A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open moversUS stock futures are lower this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 51 points to 11,989.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 6.70 points to 1,273.00. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 11.25 points to 2,334.75. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.93%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.57%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.46% and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.58%.Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.2035%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.37% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.91%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.0674% and India's Sensex dipped 1.12%. Broker RecommendationAnalysts at Jefferies & Company downgraded Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) from “buy” to “hold.” The target price for Wal-Mart has been lowered from $61 to $56.Wal-Mart shares fell 0.17% to $52.53 in after-hours trading. Breaking news

• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: CTSH) reported a 21% rise in its second-quarter net profit. To read the full news, click here.
• LivingSocial earlier today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TicketMonster Inc., asocial commerce website in South Korea, subject to Korean regulatory approval. To read the full news, click here.
• Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) released its results for the second quarter on Tuesday. Pfizer's quarterly profit surged to $2.61 billion, or $0.33 per share, from $2.48 billion, or $0.31 per share, in the year-earlier period. To read the full news, click here.
• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NASDAQ: TEVA) announced today that its new oral contraceptive, ZOELY, has received a Marketing Authorization in the European Union (EU) for the prevention of pregnancy. To read the full news, click here.