Economic data out of Germany is lifting futures this morning. Economic sentiment in the largest EU economy rose for the first time in 10 months up from its lowest level since December of 2008. Dow futures are up 55 points, the Nasdaq is gaining 15.50 and the S&P is up 7.25.

This good news was followed up by a successful bond auction in Span which exceeded its target of 4.25 billion, selling 4.94 in bonds. This did little to ease the Italian yields which are still trading at unsustainable levels. The Euro climbed almost a percent up to 1.3198, up form its lowest level in 2 months. European blue chips were also up modestly, rising .63%.

The US markets are in a wait and see mode as the the Fed is expected to announce their last policy statement of 2011 today at 2:15pm EST. The broad consensus is that the statement will be a reaffirmation of plans announced earlier in the year. Low interests rates will be held through the middle of 2013 and there will not be an announcement of new asset buying – QE3.

Retail numbers are also expected to hit the street within the hour. Consensus expectations there are a modest rise of .6% after encouraging reports of brisk Black Friday sales.

Energy markets today are holding up after the sell-off yesterday. Crude oil is up just over half a percent while gasoline futures have jumped nearly a percent.

In European markets, the FTSE 100 is up .74% trading at 5468 and the German DAX is up .85% trading at 5834.

Stocks to watch today include YM BioSciences Inc. (AMEX:YMI), Repros Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:RPRX), Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN)

YM BioSciences Inc. (AMEX:YMI) is up 30.82% in pre market trading at $1.91. YMI has traded 143 thousand shares already this morning and trades 1.6 million shares a day on average. YMI is up early after the company reported updated results for Phase I/II study of CYT387, a drug used to treat myelofibrosis. YM Biosciences has a market cap of 170.40 million.

Repros Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:RPRX) is up 17.22% in pre market trading at $5.99. RPRX trades around 40 thousand shares a day on average. The company announced late yesterday that data indicates Androxal(R) normalizes testicular function in men with type 2 diabetes. The company has a market cap of 62.94 million.

Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) is up 2.35% in pre market trading at $2.18. CLWR has traded 179 thousand shares in early trading and trades 15.9 million shares a day on average. CLWR has traded slightly lower over the past few trading days dropping from a high of $2.50 last week to around $2.20 right now. Clearwire has a market cap of 1.95 billion.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is up 4.24% in pre market trading at $78.46. NFLX trades about 7 million shares a day on average. NFLX jumped 6% yesterday and is up nearly $8 over the past week. Piper Jaffray reiterated their rating of overweight for Netflix with a price target of $100 a share. Netflix has a market cap of 3.95 billion.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up slightly in pre market trading at $393.95. AAPL trades 14.36 million shares a day on average. AAPL hasn’t seen a lot of movement over the past 5 trading days. The company has a market cap of 364.18 billion.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is down slightly in pre market trading at $188.54. AMZN trades 6.53 million shares a day on average. AMZN dropped yesterday with the overall market as the stock lost more than $3 per share. It did recover some towards the end of the day though. Amazon has a market cap of 86.19 billion.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) is up 12.62% in pre market trading at $29.80. URBN has traded over 31 thousand shares in early trading and trades 3.44 million shares on average every day. URBN shares are up today following an upbeat sales update from the company. The company has a market cap of 3.82 billion.