A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are mixed this morning, as investors are awaiting a speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 7 points to 13,440.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.30 points to 1,468.50. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 9.75 points to 2,734.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.05%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.10%, German DAX 30 Index surged 0.50% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.48%. Asian markets ended higher, with China's Shanghai Composite jumping 3.06% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 0.25%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.64% and India's Sensex surged 1.23%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded Facebook

from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Facebook has been raised from $24 to $40. Facebook shares gained 2.77% to $32.60 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

Orange has signed a strategic partnership – on an exclusive basis – with Baidu BIDU, the Chinese internet company, to develop a co-branded internet browser for smartphone customers in Africa, the Middle East and Asia (AMEA). To read the full news, click here.
Hologic HOLX today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing its APTIMA Trichomonas vaginalis Assay on the Company's fully-automated PANTHER System. To read the full news, click here.
United Parcel Service UPS announced today the European Commission (EC) has informed UPS and TNT Express that it is working on a decision to prohibit the proposed acquisition of TNT Express. To read the full news, click here.
Level 3 Communications BV, an affiliate of Level 3 Communications LVLT, today announced that the company has signed a contract with the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) to install and maintain an IP Virtual Private Network (VPN) to be used by the NATO-Russia Council Cooperative Airspace Initiative (NRC CAI). To read the full news, click here.

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