US Stock Futures Mostly Flat Ahead Of Earnings, Consumer Price Index

Pre-open movers

US stock futures traded mostly flat in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Dow Chemical Co (NYSE: DOW). The consumer price index for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 16,550.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 2.40 points to 1,935.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 1 point to 3,970.50.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.03%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.06%. German DAX 30 index climbed 0.21%, French CAC 40 Index rose 0.08% and London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.05%.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.64%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.37%, China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.56% and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.80%.

Broker Recommendation
Analysts at FBR Capital upgraded Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) from Market Perform to Outperform. The price target for Yahoo! has been raised from $40 to $50.

Yahoo's shares surged 3.43% to $41.56 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) reported a stronger-than-expected profit for the third quarter and raised its earnings forecast for the full year. To read the full news, click here.
• Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) net income from operations fell 55 percent for the recent period on nearly flat revenue, but the company beat third-quarter expectations. To read the full news, click here.
• Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter and narrowed its earnings forecast for the year. To read the full news, click here.
• BGC Partners (NASDAQ: BGCP) today announced it has commenced a fully-financed tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of GFI Group (NYSE: GFIG) it does not currently own for $5.25 per share in cash. BGC currently owns 13.5% of GFI's outstanding shares. To read the full news, click here.