US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Producer Price Index

Pre-open movers US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade, ahead of producer prices data. The producer price index for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 44 points to 15,726.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 7.30 points to 1,775.90. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 14.25 points to 3,469.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.71%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.19% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.22%. German DAX 30 index surged 0.31% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.29%. Asian markets ended mixed today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.40%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.31%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.12% and India's BSE Sensex tumbled 1%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Keefe Bruyette & Woods upgraded The Charles Schwab SCHW from “underperform” to “market perform.” Charles Schwab's shares closed at $24.80 yesterday. Breaking news

• ARM ARMH today acquired Geomerics, the leader in lighting technology for the gaming and entertainment industries. The acquisition expands ARM's position at the forefront of the visual computing and graphics industries. To read the full news, click here.
• Simon Property Group SPG today announced a plan to spin off all of its strip center business and smaller enclosed malls into an independent, publicly traded REIT ("SpinCo"). To read the full news, click here.
• The Bon-Ton Stores BONT today announced that it has entered into an amendment to the Company's existing $675 million asset-based revolving credit facility that was scheduled to mature in March 2016. To read the full news, click here.
• AVEO Oncology AVEO today announced that data from a planned interim analysis of the Phase 2 BATON study in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) indicate that the study is unlikely to meet the primary endpoint in the intent-to-treat patient population. To read the full news, click here.