A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers
US stock futures are lower this morning. Shares of Nokia Corp (NYSE: NOK) dropped in pre-market trading as the company unveiled partnership with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT). Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 39 points to 12,155, while those for the S&P 500 index declined 6.1 points to 1,313. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index lost 7.75 points to 2,354.

A Peek Into Global Markets

Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.42%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.27%.

Asian markets ended mixed, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.62% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.32%.

Broker Recommendation
Oppenheimer & Co. is raising its price target on shares of Kronos Worldwide (NYSE: KRO) to $57 from $52.

In a note to clients, Oppenheimer writes, "A couple of quick updates on KRO: 1) on 2/3, a new price increase was announced for titanium dioxide sold outside North America and Europe for a minimum of $0.09/lb, effective 4/1; and 2) on 2/10, Kronos declared a $1/share special cash dividend payable on 2/28 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 21."

Oppenheimer goes on to say, "Now that we are no longer restricted on KRO, and with greater confidence on pricing, we increase our 2011E EPS by 7% to $3.72 and introduce 2012E of $4.55. Our estimates remain in flux with high sensitivity to incremental pricing. Our price target rises to $57/share from $52, applying a constant 15.0x 2011E P/E multiple (8.0x FV/EBITDA, 12.5x '12E P/E), plus $1 dividend. KRO is a pure-play in one of the strongest chemical markets, TiO 2, the no. 1 producer in Europe and no. 3 globally with 10% share. TiO2, a hard to substitute pigment imparting whiteness to paint and plastic, is soaring in price like other necessities due to a lack of reinvestment, demand, and inflation."

Shares of KRO gained $1.28 in after-hours trading to $50.80, a gain of 2.58%.

Breaking news

• Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced that Sue Mahony, currently senior vice president of human resources and diversity, has been named senior vice president and president of Lilly Oncology. To read the full news, click here.
• New York, New York-based Gleacher & Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLCH) released financial results on Friday morning that missed Wall Street estimates. Gleacher & Company, Inc announced that it swung to an unexpected 4th quarter net loss of $12.4 million, or 10 cents per share, from net income of $9.8 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier. To read the full news, click here.
• Silver Spring, Maryland-based Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA) released financial results on Friday morning. Discovery Communications, Inc reported that its 4th quarter net income climbed to $205 million, or 48 cents per share, up from $155 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier. To read the full news, click here.
• Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) reports its Q4 EPS at $0.28, versus the consensus of $0.28. To read the full news, click here.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.