US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of GDP Data

Pre-open moversUS stock futures rose in early pre-market trade. An update on Q3 GDP growth will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for December will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 27 points to 16,142.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 3.30 points to 1,805.40. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 7.25 points to 3,500.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.09%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.17% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.28%. German DAX 30 index climbed 0.42% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.10%. The UK's gross domestic product climbed by 1.9% in the third quarter versus the year-ago period.Asian markets ended mixed today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged 0.07%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 2.02%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.33% and India's BSE Sensex jumped 1.79%. Broker RecommendationAnalysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for Carnival has been raised from $30 to $43. Carnival's shares closed at $38.05 yesterday. Breaking news

• Xerox (NYSE: XRX) today announced an agreement to acquire German-based Invoco Holding GmbH, expanding its European customer care services. To read the full news, click here.
• BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX) today announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) filing for intravenous (i.v.) peramivir to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). To read the full news, click here.
• American Vanguard (NYSE: AVD) today announced that elevated channel inventories, arising primarily from prolonged wet weather last spring in the midwestern United States, will affect its fourth quarter and full year 2013 financial performance. To read the full news, click here.
• PeptiDream announced that they have entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with US-based Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) (NYSE: LLY) on 19 December 2013. Under the agreement, PeptiDream will identify macrocyclic peptides as potential drug candidates for disease targets being pursued by Lilly. To read the full news, click here.