US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Fed Minutes

US stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on housing starts for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 14 points to 17,470.0, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.50 points to 2,050.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 3 points to 4,572.50.

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.86 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.43 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.59 percent. French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.83 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.27 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock rose 0.09 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.34 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.01 percent and India's BSE Sensex dipped 1.48 percent.

Analysts at Mizuho Securities downgraded

from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $90.00 to $80.00. Citrix Systems shares fell 3.09 percent to $76.00 in pre-market trading.