US Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of Jobless Claims Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on international trade for December, nonfarm business productivity for the fourth quarter and weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 72 points to 17,640.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 10.10 points to 2,040.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 12.75 points to 4,216.75. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.98%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.34% and German DAX 30 index falling 0.06%. French CAC 40 Index declined 0.47% and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.39%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.98%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.35%, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.18% and India's BSE Sensex tumbled 0.11%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at UBS downgraded Ralph Lauren Corporation RL from Buy to Neutral. The price target for Ralph Lauren has been lowered from $185 to $143. Ralph Lauren's shares closed at $139.71 yesterday. Breaking news

• Lombard Medical EVAR today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Aorfix™Plus. To read the full news, click here.
• Nexvet Biopharma NVET today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 4,000,000 ordinary shares at a price to the public of $10.00 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Actavis plc ACT and AstraZeneca AZN today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AstraZeneca will acquire the rights to Actavis' branded respiratory business in the U.S. and Canada for an initial consideration of $600 million on completion and low single-digit royalties above a certain revenue threshold. To read the full news, click here.
• Keurig Green Mountain Inc GMCR reported downbeat first-quarter results and offered a disappointing outlook. To read the full news, click here.