A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, ahead of a second day of testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 13 points to 13,874.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.10 points to 1,493.50. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.75 points to 2,709.75. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.15%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.30%, French CAC 40 Index rose 0.71% and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.29%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declining 1.27%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.87% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.62%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.25% and India's Sensex rose 0.72%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at RW Baird downgraded First Solar FSLR from “outperform” to “neutral.” The target price for First Solar has been lowered from $30 to $25. First Solar shares tumbled 13.42% to $27.15 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• AVEO Oncology AVEO and Astellas Pharma Global Development today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will review the company's New Drug Application for tivozanib for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma during the morning session of its meeting on May 2, 2013. To read the full news, click here.
• VeriFone Systems PAY, and SK C&C, the Korea-based global IT services company, announced today they are partnering on deployment of open interface standards and technology platforms for management of digital wallet services, acceptance solutions and mobile commerce. To read the full news, click here.
• Delcath Systems DCTH today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will review the Company's pending New Drug Application for a drug/device combination product with the proposed trade name Melblez KitTM (Melblez (melphalan) for Injection for use with the Delcath Hepatic Delivery System. To read the full news, click here.
• Joy Global JOY posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit. To read the full news, click here.