A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting congressional testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 50 points to 12,469.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 8 points to 1,323.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 12.50 points to 2,562.50.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.10%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.40%, French CAC 40 index rose 1.16% and German DAX 30 index gained 1.25%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 1.24%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.27% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.71%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.85% and India's Sensex surged 1.35%.

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Medtronic Inc

from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for Medtronic has been raised from $43 to $44. Medtronic shares dropped 0.49% to close at $36.64 yesterday.