US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers US stock futures surged in early pre-market trading. The Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations survey for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 43 points to 16,308.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 5.20 points to 1,871.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 11 points to 3,702.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.54%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.43% and STOXX Europe 600 Index jumping 0.39%. German DAX 30 index climbed 0.61% and French CAC 40 Index surged 0.52%. Asian markets ended higher today. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.20% and China's Shanghai Composite Index surged 2.72% and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.06%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Exelon EXC from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for Exelon has been raised from $23 to $35. Exelon's shares closed at $31.37 yesterday. Breaking news

• WellPoint WLP today raised its full year 2014 earnings outlook and provided detailed financial guidance for the year in conjunction with its Investor Conference taking place in New York City. To read the full news, click here.
• Forest Laboratories FRX and Gedeon Richter Plc. today announced positive topline results from a Phase IIb trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of the investigational antipsychotic cariprazine as adjunctive treatment in adult patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) who have demonstrated an inadequate response to antidepressant therapy (ADT). To read the full news, click here.
• Darden Restaurants DRI reported a drop in its fiscal third-quarter earnings. Darden's quarterly profit from continuing operations declined to $0.82 per share, from $1.02 per share, in the year-ago quarter. To read the full news, click here.
• Novartis NVS announces start of new secukinumab (AIN457) versus Stelara (ustekinumab) phase IIIb head-to-head psoriasis study at AAD 2014 . To read the full news, click here.