US Stock Futures Flat Ahead Of Existing Home Sales Data, Earnings - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures were mostly flat in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from major companies. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while existing home sales data for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 3 points to 15,319.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.30 points to 1,736.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 6.25 points to 3,348.25.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.24%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.24% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.08%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.16% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.35%. Asian markets ended higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.91%, China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.62% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 0.42%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 surged 0.57% and India's Sensex jumped 0.05%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Societe Generale downgraded Apple

AAPL

from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Apple has been raised from $500 to $575. Apple's shares gained 0.62% to $512.06 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

VF Corp VFC today announced that on Oct. 16, 2013, its Board of Directors approved a four-for-one split of the company's shares of common stock to be payable in the form of a stock dividend. To read the full news, click here.
Diamondback Energy FANG today announced initial results from its Digger 601H Clearfork Shale well in Andrews County which tested at a 24 hour rate of 611 Boe/d (87% oil) from a 7,541 foot lateral. To read the full news, click here.
Crown Castle International CCI announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Crown Castle will acquire rights to approximately 9,700 AT&T T towers for $4.85 billion in cash at closing (subject to certain limited adjustments). To read the full news, click here.
Hasbro HAS reported a 17% rise in its third-quarter earnings. Hasbro's quarterly profit surged to $193 million, or $1.46 per share, from $164.9 million, or $1.24 per share, in the year-ago period. To read the full news, click here.

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