US Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for October will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the consumer confidence index for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 93 points to 17,531.0, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 10 points to 2,058.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 25.25 points to 4,639.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.93 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.74 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.38 percent. French CAC 40 Index jumped 1.26 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.58 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.36 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.85 percent and India's BSE Sensex climbed 0.17 percent. Broker Recommendation Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Chimerix Inc CMRX from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $65.00 to $15.00. Chimerix shares rose 5.59 percent to $6.99 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. QIHU today announced that it has appointed Ms. Jie Chen as Chief Operating Officer, primarily responsible for Company's general operations, effective immediately. To read the full news, click here.
• Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. ASTI announced today the Company was issued the second of two US Patents, in December, pertaining to the company's solar manufacturing process. To read the full news, click here.
• GigaMedia Limited GIGM today announced Monday, that its Chief Executive Officer Collin Hwang has purchased a total of 173,523 shares of GigaMedia stock at an average price of $2.98 during the period between December 18, 2015 and December 23, 2015. To read the full news, click here.
• Optibase Ltd. OBAS today announced that its wholly owned Delaware subsidiary, Optibase Chicago 300 LLC, completed an investment in 300 River Holdings, LLC, which beneficially owns the rights to a 23-story Class A office building located at 300 South Riverside Plaza in Chicago under a 99 year ground lease expiring in 2114. Optibase invested $12,900,000 in exchange for a thirty percent interest in the Joint Venture Company. To read the full news, click here.