US Stock Futures Edge Higher; Ben Bernanke In Focus

Pre-open moversUS stock futures rose in early pre-market trade. Data on motor vehicle sales will be released today. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to speak at 2:30 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 9 points to 16,397.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 1.30 points to 1,827.90. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 1.25 points to 3,560.50.A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.39%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.10% and STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.33%. German DAX 30 index surged 0.29% and French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.66%. Spanish jobless claims fell by 107,570 in December, while annual inflation rate came in steady at 0.3% in the month.Asian markets ended lower today. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.24%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.24% and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.18%. Broker RecommendationAnalysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) from “hold” to “sell.” Sprint Nextel's shares fell 2.88% to $10.10 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Lindsay (NYSE: LNN) today announced its capital allocation plan and prioritization for use of cash. To read the full news, click here.
• Acacia Research (NASDAQ: ACTG) announced today that its Brandywine Communications Technologies, LLC subsidiary has entered into a settlement and patent license agreement with HickoryTech (NASDAQ: HTCO). To read the full news, click here.
• Tessera Technologies (NASDAQ: TSRA) announced today the appointment of Robert J. Andersen as the Company's executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) effective as of Jan. 2, 2014. To read the full news, click here.
• Sensata Technologies Holding NV (NYSE: ST) announced today that certain subsidiaries have completed the previously announced acquisition of Wabash Technologies from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners. To read the full news, click here.