US Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. The NAHB housing market index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 71 points to 17,503.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 10.30 points to 2,023.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 25 points to 4,159.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.47%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.99% and German DAX 30 index rising 0.32%. French CAC 40 Index jumped 1.28% and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.68%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.07%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.90%, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.82% and India's Sensex jumped 1.85%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JMP Securities downgraded

Intel CorporationINTC

from Market Perform to Market Underperform. The price target for Intel is set to $30. Intel's shares closed at $36.45 on Friday.

Breaking news

Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CPXX today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation for CPX-351 (cytarabine:daunorubicin) for the treatment of elderly patients with secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). To read the full news, click here.
Verastem, Inc. VSTM today announced dosing of the first patient in a new clinical trial evaluating the combination of VS-5584, its dual mTORC1/2 and PI3K inhibitor, in combination with VS-6063, the Company's lead focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor, in patients with relapsed mesothelioma. To read the full news, click here.
Akorn, Inc. AKRX, today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Company's New Drug Application (NDA) for Phenylephrine Hydrochloride Ophthalmic Solution, USP, 2.5% and 10%. To read the full news, click here.
Baker Hughes Inc. BHI reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. To read the full news, click here.

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