A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers

US stock futures opened lower this morning on concerns surrounding Cyprus seeking a bailout increase. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 24 points to 14,776.00 and S&P 500 index futures dropped 3.20 points to 1,584.90. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 3.75 points to 2,848.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets European markets opened low today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.44%. London's FTSE 100 Index dipped 0.38%. French CAC 40 Index lost 0.55% and German DAX 30 index declined 0.89%.

Asian markets moved up, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.47% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.06%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.30% and India's Sensex climbed up 1.55%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Sterne Agee downgraded Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) from “buy” to “neutral”. The target price for Mastercard has removed from $600.00. Mastercard shares closed at $541.24 yesterday. Breaking news

• Magnum Hunter Resources (NYSE: MHR) announced today the commencement of drilling its first Utica Shale well on the Farley Pad (4 Well Pad) located in northern Washington County, Ohio along the Noble County, Ohio border. To read the full news, click here.
• Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has been selected by the U.S. Air Force to perform risk reduction work on the next generation of microwave sounding and imaging instruments for the Weather Satellite Follow-on program. To read the full news, click here.
• The euro traded just below $1.31 on Friday morning as eurozone finance ministers gathered in Dublin for an informal meeting to discuss, among other things, the Cypriot bailout. To read the full news, click here.
• Brent crude oil neared an eight month low on Friday morning as investors worried about global demand growth. To read the full news, click here.