US Stock Futures Mixed; Japan Posts Current Account Deficit

US stock futures were mixed in early pre-market trade. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7 points to 16,006.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.50 points to 1,805.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 5.75 points to 3,509.75.

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.34%, London's FTSE 100 index dropping 0.18% and STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.12%. German DAX 30 index gained 0.05% and French CAC 40 Index fell 0.43%. Germany's trade surplus declined to 16.8 billion euros in October. The country's imports increased 2.9%, while exports gained 0.2%. Asian markets ended higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 2.29%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.05%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.29% and India's BSE Sensex jumped 1.57%. Japan swung into a current account deficit of Y127.9 billion in October, versus a year-ago surplus of Y420.8 billion. China's consumer price index climbed 3% y/y in November.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Kraft Foods

from “equal-weight” to “overweight.” The target price for Kraft Foods has been raised from $55 to $60. Kraft Foods' shares closed at $53.55 on Friday.