US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of PMI Manufacturing Index

Pre-open movers US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Markit PMI manufacturing index (flash) for September will be released at 8:58 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 18 points to 15,421.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.70 points to 1,705.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 10 points to 3,226.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.24%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.24% and STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.02%. German DAX 30 index declined 0.04% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.07%. Germany preliminary services PMI surged to 54.4 in September, from 52.8 in August. Euro-zone composite PMI climbed to 52.1 from 51.5 in August. Asian markets ended mostly lower today. China's Shanghai Composite surged 1.33% and Australia's ASX/S&P500 dropped 0.47%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.56% and India's Sensex tumbled 1.79%. The Reserve Bank of India lifted its key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 7.5%. China's manufacturing PMI increased to 51.2 in September, versus August's final reading of 50.1, according to preliminary results from HSBC's gauge. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded Towers Watson & Co TW from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Towers Watson has been raised from $93 to $125. Towers Watson's shares closed at $102.99 on Friday. Breaking news

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