A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are higher this morning, after upbeat results from Cisco Systems

. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 41 points to 12,758.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5 points to 1,375.90. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 14.50 points to 2,575.00.

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.54%, London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.63%, French CAC 40 Index declined 0.27% and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.46%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.04%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.37% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gaining 0.15%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.20%.

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded JC Penney

from “overweight” to “neutral.” The target price for JC Penney has been lowered from $30 to $20. JC Penney shares gained 1.09% to $17.59 in after-hours trading.