US Stock Futures Up After Upbeat China Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures surged in early pre-market trade, after upbeat Chinese data. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for August will be released at 7:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 76 points to 15,112.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 8.90 points to 1,678.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 18.75 points to 3,183.75. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index surging 1.55%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.73% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 1.15%. German DAX 30 index rose 1.73% and French CAC 40 Index gained 1.36%. French industrial production declined 0.6% in July from June, versus economists' expectations for a 0.5% rise. Asian markets ended higher today. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.15%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged 1.54%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 gained 0.38% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.99% and India's Sensex jumped 3.77%. China's industrial production surged 10.4% y/y, versus a 9.7% rise in July. The country's retail sales rose by 13.4% y/y in August. India's trade deficit narrowed to $10.9 billion in August, versus $14.17 billion in the year-ago period. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded Fusion-io FIO from “neutral” to “overweight.” The target price for Fusion-io has been raised from $12 to $17. Fusion-io's shares closed at $13.60 yesterday. Breaking news

• Exelixis EXEL today announced that it has initiated CELESTIAL, a phase 3 pivotal trial comparing cabozantinib with placebo in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have previously been treated with sorafenib. To read the full news, click here.
• ChemoCentryx CCXI today announced interim data from an ongoing Phase II study in patients with diabetic nephropathy, also known as diabetic kidney disease, with CCX140. CCX140 is an inhibitor of the chemokine receptor known as CCR2, and the drug candidate is wholly owned by the Company. To read the full news, click here.
• MagnaChip Semiconductor MX announced Monday that certain of its stockholders that are affiliated with Avenue Capital Management II, L.P. priced an underwritten registered public offering of 1,700,000 shares of MagnaChip's common stock at a price per share to the public of $21.20. To read the full news, click here.
• The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Company RTN a $54 million contract for the procurement of the second lot of the Excalibur Ib artillery round. To read the full news, click here.