A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 43 points to 15,251.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 6.10 points to 1,644.70. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 10.50 points to 2,991.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.11%, London's FTSE 100 index gained 1.13%, French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.17% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.97%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 4.94%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rising 0.18% and India's Sensex gaining 0.06%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Jefferies downgraded Titan International TWI from “buy” to “hold.” The target price for Titan International has been lowered from $25 to $21. Titan International's shares closed at $20.71 on Friday. Breaking news

• AstraZeneca AZN announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pearl Therapeutics, a privately held company based in Redwood City, California, focused on the development of inhaled small-molecule therapeutics for respiratory disease. To read the full news, click here.
• Clovis Oncology CLVS announced today that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock to raise aggregate proceeds of $170 million. To read the full news, click here.
• IHS IHS, the leading global source of critical information and analytics, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire R.L. Polk & Co. POLL, a recognized leader in providing automotive information and analytics solutions. To read the full news, click here.
• GigaMedia GIGM announced today positive initial results from an internal restructuring completed in May, a key part of new management's turnaround plans for its online games business. To read the full news, click here.