US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Economic Data - Ayala Pharmaceuticals (OTC:ADXS), Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Markit PMI services index (flash) for August will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed general business activity index for August will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 42 points to 17,035.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 5.90 points to 1,993.70. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 14.25 points to 4,069.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.92%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.66%. German DAX 30 index gained 1.03%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.12% and London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.04%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.48%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.22%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.51% and India's Sensex gained 0.07%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded United States Steel

from Underperform to Outperform. The target price for United States Steel has been raised from $22 to $50. United States Steel's shares closed at $37.81 on Friday.

Breaking news

Advaxis ADXS has entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Merck MRK to evaluate the combination of Advaxis's Lm-LLO cancer immunotherapy, ADXS-PSA, with Merck's investigational anti PD-1 antibody, pembrolizumab. To read the full news, click here.
Alkermes ALKS today announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of aripiprazole lauroxil, the company's investigational, novel, once-monthly, long-acting injectable atypical antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia. To read the full news, click here.
Roche RHHBY and InterMune ITMN today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement for Roche to fully acquire InterMune at a price of $74.00 per share in an all-cash transaction. This corresponds to a total transaction value of $8.3 billion on a fully diluted basis. To read the full news, click here.
In response to media reports, Tim Hortons THI and Burger King Worldwide BKW today confirmed that they are in discussions regarding the potential creation of a global leader in the quick service restaurant business. To read the full news, click here.

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