A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - Acura Pharmaceuticals (OTC:ACUR), Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Citigroup

. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 21 points to 15,390.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.20 points to 1,672.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5.50 points to 3,067.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index surged 0.15%, London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.33%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.20% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.07%. Asian markets ended higher, with China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.98% and Australia's ASX/S&P500 rising 0.16%. Hong Kong's Heng Seng Index rose 0.12% and India's Sensex jumped 0.38%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at ISI Group upgraded Patterson Companies

PDCO

from “cautious” to “neutral.” The target price for Patterson Companies has been raised from $35 to $39.50. Patterson Companies' shares closed at $39.65 on Friday.

Breaking news

Acura Pharmaceuticals ACUR today announced a second generation prototype formulation of its methamphetamine-resistant IMPEDE technology with pseudoephedrine hydrochloride yielded no measurable amount of crystal meth (the street name for the illicit drug methamphetamine hydrochloride) when processed in the direct conversion or one-pot method. To read the full news, click here.
Pfizer PFE announced today that tofacitinib has been approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients who had an inadequate response to existing therapies in several additional countries around the world, including Switzerland, which is the first European country to receive approval. To read the full news, click here.
Wells Fargo & Company WFC has signed an agreement to acquire Commerzbank's Hypothekenbank Frankfurt (formerly Eurohypo) U.K. commercial real estate portfolio. To read the full news, click here.
MB Financial MBFI and Taylor Capital Group TAYC announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement whereby MB Financial will acquire Taylor Capital. To read the full news, click here.

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