A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, after Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives reached an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 177 points to 12,265.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 15.50 points to 1,307.10. Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 31.25 points to 2,390.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.68%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.54%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.81% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.71%.

Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 1.3884%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.6132% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.08%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.9943% and India's Sensex surged 0.64%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Robert W. Baird upgraded Rockwell Automation Inc (NYSE: ROK) from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for Rockwell Automation has been lowered from $92 to $90.

Rockwell Automation shares fell 2.34% to close at $71.76 on Friday.

Breaking news

• Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM) reported a 35% rise in its second-quarter profit and lifted its earnings outlook for the year. To read the full news, click here.
• Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) announced earlier today that it has acquired Prospect Technology Corp. To read the full news, click here.
• Loews Corp (NYSE: L) reported a decline in its second quarter profit on Monday. Loews reported its quarterly profit at $252 million, or $0.62 per share, down from $366 million, or $0.87 per share, in the year-ago period. To read the full news, click here.
• Europe's largest bank, HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC), announced Monday a cost-saving initiative to cut 30,000 jobs from its workforce by 2013. To read the full news, click here.