US Stock Futures Jump Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures jumped in early pre-market trading, ahead of economic data. The Empire State manufacturing index for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while industrial production for January will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. The NAHB housing market index for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 101 points to 16,093.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 11.60 points to 1,844.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 27.50 points to 3,648.50.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.92%, London's FTSE 100 index rising 0.42% and STOXX Europe 600 Index jumping 0.61%. German DAX 30 index climbed 0.61% and French CAC 40 Index surged 0.60%. Euro-zone consumer prices rose 0.3% in February from January. Asian markets ended mostly lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.35%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.30% and China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.96%.

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded GNC Holdings

from “buy” to “neutral.” The target price for GNC Holdings has been lowered from $65 to $51. GNC Holdings' shares closed at $46.55 yesterday.