US Stock Futures Jump Ahead Of Retail Sales, Business Inventories Data

US stock futures surged in early pre-market trade, ahead of economic data. Data on retail sales for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while business inventories data for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 72 points to 16,591.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 10 points to 1,940.40. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 20.25 points to 3,923.75.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.60%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.47%. German DAX 30 index surged 1.15%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.82% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.46%. French consumer price index fell 0.3% in July versus June. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 0.35%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.81%, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.06% and India's Sensex surged 0.15%. Japan's economy shrank by an annualized 6.8% in the second quarter. China's industrial production increased 9% y/y in July, while retail sales rose 12.2%.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded King Digital Entertainment plc

from Buy to Hold. The target price for King Digital Entertainment has been lowered from $27.00 to $12.00. King Digital Entertainment's shares dropped 21.98% to $14.20 in pre-market trading.