US Stock Futures Up; ISM Data In Focus - Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR), Amdocs (NASDAQ:DOX)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures surged in early pre-market trade, ahead of economic data. The Markit PMI manufacturing index for August will be released at 8:58 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing composite index for August and construction spending data for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 101 points to 14,896.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 14.70 points to 1,646.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 24 points to 3,097.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.41%, London's FTSE 100 index falling 0.09% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.13%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.20% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.07%. UK retail sales gained 1.8% on the year in August, while total sales surged 3.6% y/y. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. China's official non-manufacturing PMI fell to 53.9 in August, from 54.1 in July. Australian retail sales increased 0.1% versus a month earlier, while current account deficit widened to A$9.4 billion in the second quarter versus the first quarter. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.18%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged 2.99%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 gained 0.21%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 0.99% and India's Sensex tumbled 3.45%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Owens-Illinois

from “neutral” to “overweight.” The target price for Owens-Illinois has been raised from $32 to $34. Owens-Illinois's shares closed at $28.39 on Friday.

Breaking news

Microsoft MSFT and Nokia NOK announced that the boards of directors for both companies have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially all of Nokia's Devices & Services business, license Nokia's patents, and license and use Nokia's mapping services. To read the full news, click here.
Premier Oil PMOIY has awarded Emerson Process Management, a global business of Emerson EMR, a $17 million contract to automate a new offshore production platform in the Solan oil field on the U.K. Continental Shelf. Emerson's technologies and services will enable Premier to safely and efficiently manage the platform 100 miles west of Scotland from an onshore operations center in Aberdeen. To read the full news, click here.
Medtronic, MDT, announced today at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress the final three-year results from Symplicity HTN-1, the first and longest running clinical study investigating the safety and efficacy of renal denervation, which also have been accepted for publication in The Lancet. To read the full news, click here.
Amdocs DOX today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Actix for approximately $120 million in cash, subject to customary closing conditions. To read the full news, click here.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs