A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 13,440.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.40 points to 1,467.90. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5 points to 2,731.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were slightly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.09%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.01%, German DAX 30 Index dropped 0.14% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.91%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.09%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.06% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rising 0.31%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.07% and India's Sensex surged 0.74%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Cisco Systems CSCO from “neutral” to “underweight.” The target price for Cisco has been lowered from $20 to $18. Cisco shares dropped 1.43% to $20.73 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• K•Swiss KSWS and E.Land World Ltd. announced today entry into a definitive agreement pursuant to which E.Land World will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of K•Swiss for $4.75 per share in cash, or a total equity value of approximately $170 million. To read the full news, click here.
• Magellan Petroleum MPET today announced that on January 14, 2013, the Company entered into a Collateral Purchase Agreement with Sopak AG, a Swiss subsidiary of Glencore International plc. To read the full news, click here.
• Huntington Bancshares HBAN reported a 32% rise in its fourth-quarter earnings. To read the full news, click here.
• Stryker SYK and Trauson Holdings Company Limited announced today that Stryker will make a voluntary general offer to acquire all the shares of Trauson for HK$7.50 per ordinary share for a total consideration of $764 million in an all cash transaction, representing an enterprise value of approximately $685 million. To read the full news, click here.