A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - Alcoa (NYSE:AA)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are higher this morning, after Alcoa

reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 41 points to 15,201.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5.80 points to 1,641.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 10.75 points to 2,969.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.42%, London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.83%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.48% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.73%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 2.58%, China's Shanghai Composite surging 0.37% and Australia's ASX/S&P500 rising 1.44%. Hong Kong's Heng Seng Index gained 0.49% and India's Sensex jumped 0.59%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded International Business Machines

IBM

from “buy” to “neutral.” The target price for IBM has been lowered from $220 to $200. IBM's shares closed at $194.98 yesterday.

Breaking news

FX Energy FXEN today reported that testing of three fracked Rotliegend intervals in the Plawce-2 well has been completed. To read the full news, click here.
Sirius XM Radio SIRI today announced that it added 715,000 net new subscribers in the second quarter, bringing its total subscribers to more than 25 million. To read the full news, click here.
Exar EXAR announced that its Board of Directors has authorized, but not obligated, the Company to repurchase up to an additional $50 million of its outstanding common stock. To read the full news, click here.
The Kroger Co KR and Harris Teeter Supermarkets HTSI today announced a definitive merger agreement under which Kroger will purchase all outstanding shares of Harris Teeter for $49.38 per share in cash. To read the full news, click here.

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