A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), AutoNation (NYSE:AN)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 point to 15,441.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.40 points to 1,677.00. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2 points to 3,077.25.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.18%, London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.39%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.13% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.01%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 1.32%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.05% and Australia's ASX/S&P500 rising 0.21%. Hong Kong's Heng Seng Index declined 0.12% and India's Sensex gained 0.90%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Quality Systems

QSII

from “underweight” to “neutral.” The target price for Quality Systems has been raised from $17 to $20. Quality Systems' shares closed at $21.84 yesterday.

Breaking news

AutoNation AN reported a 14% rise in its second-quarter earnings. To read the full news, click here.
Gentex GNTX today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Johnson Controls' JCI HomeLink® business. To read the full news, click here.
Sigma-Aldrich SIAL today announced a partnership with The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) to fund research and provide immediate, day-of-publication access to TSRI researchers' discoveries for the synthesis and analysis of potential drugs. To read the full news, click here.
Quest Diagnostics DGX announced today that it has completed the sale of its rights to royalties from commercialization of the drug candidate ibrutinib to Royalty Pharma, the industry leader in acquiring royalty interests in marketed and late stage biopharmaceutical products, for $485 million in cash. To read the full news, click here.

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