A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting the Chicago PMI and pending home sales data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 41 points to 12962.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 4.70 points to 1,406.00. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 11 points to 2,611.50.

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.36%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.20%, German DAX 30 Index dropped 0.43% and French CAC 40 Index fell 0.87%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.70%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 1.24% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 0.51%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.21% and India's Sensex surged 0.63%.

Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing

from “buy” to “hold.” BCD Semiconductor shares jumped 86.18% to close at $7.41 yesterday.