US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Retail Sales, Jobless Claims Data

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on weekly jobless claims, retail sales for November and import prices for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 24 points to 17,566.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.20 points to 2,029.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 0.25 points to 4,227.25.

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.07%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.41%. German DAX 30 index climbed 0.19%, French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.12% and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.63%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.89%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 0.90%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.49% and India's Sensex slipped 0.82%.

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded United Therapeutics

from Neutral to Underperform. The price target for United Therapeutics has been raised from $100 to $120. United Therapeutics' shares fell 2.51% to close at $131.42 yesterday.