US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Home-Sales Data - KKR (NYSE:KKR), Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade, ahead of home-sales data. Data on new home sales for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed general business activity index for January will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 32 points to 15,848.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 7.90 points to 1,790.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 7.50 points to 3,539.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.84%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 3.06% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.78%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.34% and French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.03%. Asian markets ended lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.51%, China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.03%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 2.11% and India's BSE Sensex fell 2.02%. Japan's trade deficit widened to 1.302 trillion yen ($12.8 billion) in December. The country's exports climbed 15.3% y/y, while imports rose 24.7%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Merck & Company

MRK

from “underweight” to “overweight.” The target price for Merck & Company is set to $60. Merck's shares closed at $51.98 on Friday.

Breaking news

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Sedgwick Claims Management Services announced today that KKR KKR, together with management, have signed an agreement to acquire majority ownership of Sedgwick for approximately $2.4 billion from its current group of investors, which includes Hellman & Friedman LLC and Stone Point Capital LLC. To read the full news, click here.
Rexford Industrial Realty REXR today announced that it has acquired an industrial property located at 14723-14825 Oxnard Street in Van Nuys, California, for $8.9 million, or $114 per square foot. The acquisition was fully funded through the Company's existing line of credit. To read the full news, click here.
RadioShack RSH today announced its new brand positioning, which articulates the brand's purpose and serves as the foundation for the company's competitive advantage. To read the full news, click here.

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