US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade, ahead of economic data. Data on durable goods orders, jobless claims and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET. The Conference Board's index of leading indicators will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 19 points to 16,079.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.20 points to 1,804.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 5.50 points to 3,452.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.33%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.13% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.34%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.22% and French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.17%. French consumer confidence declined to 84 in November, versus 85 in October. The UK economy expanded 0.8% in the third quarter.

Asian markets ended mixed today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.42%, China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.82%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 0.53% and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.02%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Tilly's (NYSE: TLYS) from “buy” to “neutral.” The target price for Tilly's has been lowered from $17 to $12.

Tilly's shares closed at $15.88 yesterday.

Breaking news

• Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ: DSGX) announced today that Edward J. Ryan has been appointed as Descartes' Chief Executive Officer, in accordance with its leadership succession plan. To read the full news, click here.
• Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ: ASTI) announced today the opening of three kiosk locations in Southern California for the company's EnerPlexTM brand of consumer electronics. To read the full news, click here.
• Recovery Energy (NASDAQ: RECV) announced that its shareholders voted and approved to change the corporate name to Lilis Energy. To read the full news, click here.
• Stereotaxis (NASDAQ: STXS) announced the results of its previously announced offering of subscription rights to purchase shares of its common stock, par value $0.001 per share. To read the full news, click here.