A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI), Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 60 points to 11,915.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 7.60 points to 1,245.00. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 13.50 points to 2,317.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.56%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.48%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.55% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.92%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.1608%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.19% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.06%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.9137% and India's Sensex dropped 0.97%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Robert W. Baird downgraded Quanta Services Inc

PWR

from “outperform” to “neutral.” The target price for Quanta Services has been lowered from $27 to $20. Quanta Services shares dropped 3.56% to close at $18.94 yesterday.

Breaking news

Acacia Research Corporation ACTG announced today that a subsidiary has acquired rights to semiconductor memory and process patents from a major technology company. To read the full news, click here.
IntelGenx Corp. IGXT today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved IntelGenx' lead product, CPI-300, for patients with Major Depressive Disorder. To read the full news, click here.
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc TTWO today announced the pricing of $220 million of 1.75% convertible senior notes due 2016. To read the full news, click here.
D.R. Horton Inc DHI swung to a profit in the fourth quarter. To read the full news, click here.

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