US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 94 points to 17,743.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 11.80 points to 2,047.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 23.50 points to 4,224.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.30%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.98% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.57%. French CAC 40 Index jumped 1.54% and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.37%. In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.45%, China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.71% and India's Sensex jumped 0.46% Broker Recommendation Analysts at JMP Securities downgraded Morgan Stanley MS from Market Outperform to Market Perform and removed the price target of $38.00. Morgan Stanley's shares closed at $36.88 on Friday. Breaking news

• QIAGEN NV QGEN announced today the CE-IVD marking of its novel liquid biopsy-based companion diagnostic that analyzes circulating nucleic acids obtained from blood samples to assess an important genomic mutation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of this cancer. To read the full news, click here.
• Foundation Medicine, Inc. FMI and Roche RHHBY announced today that they will enter into a broad strategic collaboration to further advance Foundation Medicine's market-leading position in molecular information and genomic analysis while providing Roche a unique opportunity to optimize the identification and development of novel treatment options for cancer patients. To read the full news, click here.
• Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ASPX today announced favorable topline safety results from its thorough QT (TQT) clinical trial evaluating the effects of SD-809 on cardiac repolarization, based on placebo-corrected, time-matched changes from baseline in the corrected QT (QTc) interval. To read the full news, click here.
• Shire PLC SHPG has agreed to acquire NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NPSP for $5.2 billion or $46 a share. To read the full news, click here.