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The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.

Global stocks looked set for modest gains ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, with investors embracing upbeat readings on German consumer confidence and U.K. economic growth.

European stocks rose about 0.3 per cent, while futures activity for the Dow Jones industrial average pointed to modest gains. The moves add to a series of steps that have driven major indexes to celebratory thresholds: On Tuesday, for example, the Nasdaq closed above 4,000 for the first time since 2000.

The backdrop on Wednesday is fairly upbeat economic developments. A reading on German consumer confidence topped estimates and hit its highest level since 2007. U.K. economic growth in the third quarter was 0.8 per cent, unchanged from a previous reading. Also in Europe, the biggest political partners in Germany early this morning agreed to form a coalition government led by Angela Merkel.

Stock futures held on to modest gains after the U.S. released jobless claims for last week and durable goods orders data for October.

More details on those reports, and what else is going on this morning, below.

MARKETS:

Equities:

Futures: S&P 500 +0.11 per cent; Dow +0.14 per cent; Nasdaq +0.13 per cent; S&P Toronto +0.33 per cent

Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.53 per cent

Shanghai composite index +0.82 per cent

Japan's Nikkei -0.42 per cent

London's FTSE 100 +0.12 per cent

Germany's DAX +0.24 per cent

France's CAC 40 +0.22 per cent

Commodities:

WTI crude oil (Nymex Jan) -0.44 per cent at $93.27 (U.S.) a barrel

Gold (Comex Dec) +0.77 per cent at $1,251.00 (U.S.) an ounce

Copper (Comex Dec) +0.19 per cent at $3.22 (U.S.) a pound

Currencies:

Canadian dollar at 94.78 (U.S.), vs. 94.97 at Tuesday's North American close.

U.S. dollar index down 0.07 at 80.53

Bonds:

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.73 per cent, up 0.01

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

U.S. durable goods orders for October fell 2 per cent from September, matching Street expectations. Excluding the transportation sector, durable goods fell 0.1 per cent, below the Street forecast calling for a 0.5 per cent rise.

U.S. jobless claims for last week fell 10,000 last week to 316,000. Street expected jobless claims of 330,000.

(955 a.m. ET) U.S. releases the Reuter's/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for November, forecast to rise to 73.3 from an earlier reading this month of 72.0.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

Hewlett-Packard shares are up 7 per cent in the premarket after late Tuesday reporting fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.01 a share on revenue of $29.1-billion, beating Street forecasts for $1 and $27.86-billion, respectively.

CVS Caremark agreed to acquire Coram LLC, a unit of Apria Healthcare Group Inc., for approximately $2.1-billion (U.S.).

ANALYST ACTIONS:

Desjardins Securities raised its price target on Alimentation Couche-Tard to $85 (Canadian) from $70 and maintained a "buy" rating. Canaccord Genuity raised its target to $86 from $79, while BMO Nesbitt Burns upgraded its rating to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its target to $89 from $64.

M Partners raised its price target on Mainstreet Equity to $40 (Canadian) from $35.50 and maintained a "buy" rating.

RBC Dominion Securities downgraded Intel to "sector perform" from "outperform" and cut its price target to $26 (U.S.) from $27.

Evercore Partners upgraded Hewlett-Packard to "equalweight" from "underweight" and raised its price target to $25 (U.S.) from $20.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey downgraded Tilly's to "neutral" from "buy" and cut its price target to $13 (U.S.) from $20.

THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING LINKS:

Even with the sharp gains in stock prices this year, 70 per cent of the Dow components still offer dividend yields greater than 2 per cent.

How to spot a bad bond fund.

Why Mr. Market's asset allocation is still tough to beat.

Firms specializing in foreign exchange are now offering institutional investors beta strategies that can lower equity risk and diversify portfolios.

An upgraded look at S&P 500 sector weightings.

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For instant headlines on breaking economic and corporate news in the premarket, follow Darcy Keith on Twitter at @eyeonequities.

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