A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, after a strong rise in the previous session. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 14 points to 12,884.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.30 points to 1,355.10. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.25 points to 2,592.25.

A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.54%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.31%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.99% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.93%.

Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 1.58%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.01% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.38%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.01% and India's Sensex surged 0.75%.

Broker Recommendation Analysts at Robert W. Baird downgraded Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) from “outperform” to “neutral.” The target price for Dell has been raised from $18 to $20.

Dell shares gained 1.83% to close at $18.32 yesterday.

Breaking news

• Encana Corporation (NYSE: ECA) achieved its core 2011 financial and operating targets, generating cash flow of US$4.2 billion, or $5.66 per share, and total production of 3.5 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d), a 5 percent increase from 2010. To read the full news, click here.
• Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE: ETE) and Southern Union Company (NYSE: SUG) today announced that they have filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission a Stipulation and Agreement among Southern Union, ETE and the Commission Staff. To read the full news, click here.
• Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: FSYS) has purchased from the Wayne business of Dresser Italia S.r.l., the assets of its CUBOGAS compressor division, specializing in natural gas compressors and packaging solutions in an all-cash asset acquisition that closed on February 10, 2012. To read the full news, click here.
• Amerigroup Corp (NYSE: AGP) posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. To read the full news, click here.