US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Productivity Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of nonfarm business productivity data. Data on nonfarm business productivity for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while consumer credit data for March will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 26 points to 16,386.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.50 points to 1,866.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 3.50 points to 3,554.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.57%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.31%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.14%, French CAC 40 Index declined 0.12% and London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.39%. French trade deficit widened to 4.94 billion euros ($6.87 billion) in March versus EUR3.77 billion in February, while industrial production dropped 0.7% in March versus February. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 2.93%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.05%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.89% and India's BSE Sensex tumbled 0.82%. The HSBC Hong Kong PMI slipped to 49.7 in April. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Office Depot ODP from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for Office Depot has been raised from $6.13 to $7. Office Depot's shares closed at $4.83 yesterday. Breaking news

• Pepco Holdings POM posted a profit in the first quarter. Pepco swung to a quarterly profit of $75 million, or $0.30 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $430 million, or $1.82 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Encana ECA will significantly accelerate its plan to transition its portfolio and grow shareholder value through an agreement reached with Freeport-McMoRan for Encana's wholly owned subsidiary, Encana Oil & Gas (USA), to acquire approximately 45,500 net acres in Karnes, Wilson and Atascosa counties of south Texas for about US$3.1 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH today announced that the Company has received confirmation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its Investigational New Drug application (IND) is now open for Epidiolex in the treatment of Dravet Syndrome, a rare and catastrophic treatment-resistant form of childhood epilepsy. To read the full news, click here.
• Mondelez International MDLZ and D.E Master Blenders 1753 B.V. today announced their intention to combine their respective coffee businesses to create the world's leading pure-play coffee company, with annual revenues of more than $7 billion (€5 billion) and an EBITDA[1] margin in the high teens. To read the full news, click here.