US Stock Futures Surge; All Eyes On Citigroup Results - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Citigroup

. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 57 points to 16,938.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 6.50 points to 1,968.90. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 19.50 points to 3,917.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.13%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.67%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.71%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.54% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.64%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.88%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 0.49%, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.96% and India's BSE Sensex dipped 0.07%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays upgraded Apple

AAPL

from Equal Weight to Overweight. The target price for Apple has been raised from $95 to $110. Apple's shares rose 1.12% to $96.29 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

Citigroup C today announced that it has reached an agreement to settle the ongoing investigation of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group, part of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. To read the full news, click here.
Salix Pharmaceuticals SLXP and Progenics Pharmaceuticals PGNX today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) has informed Salix that RELISTOR® (methylnaltrexone bromide) Subcutaneous Injection, 20 mg/ml, for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients taking opioids for chronic non-cancer pain can be approved on the data submitted in the sNDA. To read the full news, click here.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions KTOS announced today that its Advanced Drones & Target Systems Division (KADTS) recently received a new $4.2 million contract award to provide unmanned aerial drone system aircraft and related spares to a National Security customer. To read the full news, click here.
Shire SHPG announces that following discussions with AbbVie ABBV, Shire requested and has received a further revised proposal from AbbVie on 13 July 2014. To read the full news, click here.

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