US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Consumer Sentiment Report - BioLine Rx (NASDAQ:BLRX)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures rose in early pre-market trading, ahead of economic data. The producer price index for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 14 points to 16,061.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.10 points to 1,842.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 7.25 points to 3,651.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.98%, London's FTSE 100 index falling 0.24% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.63%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.41% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.64%. Asian markets ended mostly lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 3.30%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 1%, China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 0.73% and India's BSE Index rose 0.16%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

TEVA

from “underweight” to “equal-weight.” The price target for Teva Pharmaceutical is set to $52. Teva Pharmaceutical's shares closed at $47.96 yesterday.

Breaking news

BioLineRx BLRX announced today that an Issue of Notification has been received from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for U.S. Patent No. 8,663,651, which includes claims to protect the use of BL-8040's composition for enhancing immune responses to an antigen, such as a tumor-associated antigen. To read the full news, click here.
General Mills GIS said today that it continues to expect adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the fiscal year ending May 25, 2014, to total between $2.87 and $2.90 per share. To read the full news, click here.
Idenix Pharmaceuticals IDIX today announced that it has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Gilead Sciences GILD and/or certain of its subsidiaries in each of three countries - France, Germany and the United Kingdom. To read the full news, click here.
Aeropostale ARO reported its fourth quarter and fiscal 2013 results after the closing bell on Thursday. Shares of the mall-based specialty retailer tumbled in pre-market trading, after revenue decreased 16 percent to $670 million from $797.7 million the same time a year ago. The company also reported a net loss of 70.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, or $0.90 per diluted share. To read the full news, click here.

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