US Stock Futures Rise Ahead of Jobless Claims, Retail Sales Data - Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on weekly jobless claims, retail sales for July and import prices for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 48 points to 17,415.0, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 5.90 points to 2,090.15. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 15.60 points to 4,549.10.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.55 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 1.79 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.80 percent. French CAC 40 Index jumped 1.90 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.74 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.99 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.43 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.76 percent and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.14 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital upgraded

Merck & Co., Inc. MRK

from Market Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $65.00 to $70.00. Merck shares gained 0.87 percent to close at $58.26 yesterday.

Breaking news

Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday. To read the full news, click here.
Shares of Kohl's Corporation KSS dropped over 5 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter. To read the full news, click here.
Leyard Optoelectronic Co., Ltd., a leading worldwide provider of LED display products and ancillary systems, and Planar Systems, Inc. PLNR announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which a U.S. affiliate of Leyard will acquire all of the common stock of Planar for a purchase price of $6.58 per share. To read the full news, click here.
Flowers Foods, Inc. FLO today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Dave's Killer Bread, the best-selling organic bread in the U.S., from its existing shareholders, including members of the Dahl family and Goode Partners, for approximately $275 million in cash. To read the full news, click here.

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