The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.11%) has lost 37 points in pre-market trading, suggesting a lower start to the stock market today. After Friday's triple-digit loss, the Dow looks set to follow the lead from world markets, which dropped in overnight trading: Europe's STOXX index was down 0.8% as of 7:30 a.m. EDT and Japan's Nikkei index fell nearly 2%.
Meanwhile, news is breaking on several stocks that could see heavy trading in today's session, including Disney (DIS 0.18%), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), and Questcor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: QCOR).
Disney's Captain America: The Winter Soldier set an April box office record this weekend, grossing $96 million in ticket sales in its domestic debut. The gamble Disney took in releasing a traditional summer blockbuster in early April has paid off in spades: The Winter Soldier trounced the original Captain America film's $65 million 2011 launch weekend. Disney also has to be happy with the global appeal of this latest movie, as it set a record for the company in China and has already grossed over $200 million in markets outside of the United States. Disney's Marvel movie strategy is firing on all cylinders. The stock was down 1.6% in pre-market trading.
Yahoo! is about to leap into the market for exclusive TV content. The tech giant is shopping for original programming that could cost from "$700,000 to a few million dollars" per episode, according to The Wall Street Journal. That massive production budget would put the content on par with what Netflix has been spending on shows such as its House of Cards series. Still, for that price Yahoo! is hoping that a breakout Web video hit could help it collect advertising dollars that traditionally go toward TV marketing. The stock had dropped 0.5% in pre-market trading.
Finally, Questcor Pharmaceuticals stock was up 29% in pre-market trading after the company agreed to be purchased by Mallinckrodt (MNK) for $5.6 billion. That deal price works out to roughly $86 per share for Questcor investors, who stand to receive $30 in cash for each share they own, in addition to some stock in the combined company. Mallinckrodt gains some significant high-growth drug brands, including Acthar gel, which was responsible for almost $800 million in sales for Questcor last year, up 49% from the prior year. Mallinckrodt stock was also higher on the news, up 6% in pre-market trading.
