A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are higher, this morning as investors awaited economic data. General Motors Co is set to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95 points to 11,090, while S&P 500 futures gained 13.30 points to 1,191. Nasdaq 100 futures moved up 27 points to 2,124.

Positive sentiments ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has advanced 1.24%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.46%. Asian markets ended in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average adding 2.06%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.38% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.93%.

Oppenheimer & Co. is lowering its price target on NRG Energy, Inc.

to $23 from $24, but is keeping is Overweight rating on shares. In a note sent to clients, Oppenheimer writes, "While we increased our EBITDA estimates slightly after making adjustments for acquisitions and power price assumptions, a change in segment EBITDA contribution caused us to lower our price target by $1 to $23. We lowered the Texas segment by about $100 million while increasing the Reliant segment by $150 million, as we expect fewer customers switching and higher margins. The Reliant segment also includes a contribution from Green Mountain Energy. While NRG's stock is looking increasingly attractive given its year-to-date price weakness, we believe it is still too early to switch into unregulated generators. A fair trading range for NRG is $19-26; we note that NRG is at the lower end of that range." Shares of NRG gained 3 cents yesterday to close at $19.47.

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