A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are higher this morning, ahead of retail-sales and other economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 29 points to 12,896.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 3.50 points to 1,371.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4.75 points to 2,646.25.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.45%, London's FTSE 100 Index surged 0.57%, French CAC 40 Index gained 0.14% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.78%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 0.27%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.17% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.09%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.50%.

Analysts at Sterne Agee downgraded Advanced Micro Devices

from “buy” to “neutral.” The target price for Advanced Micro Devices is set to $8.50. Advanced Micro Devices shares gained 4.87% to close at $6.03 on Tuesday.