The futures were trading higher as we get to finish out the first half of 2023. The major indexes closed mixed on Thursday, with only the Nasdaq finishing the day lower. However, it was a banner six months for the Nasdaq, which had its best first half in 52 years. The S&P 500 finished up over 30% and 14% respectively, while the venerable Dow Jones Industrials only managed to scratch out a single-digit gain. Some big positives Thursday for the overall market: all 23 banks passed the Federal Reserve stress test, and the final reading for first-quarter gross domestic product came in at 2%, versus expectations for growth of 1.4%.
Treasury yields soared across the curve as the GDP data almost assures that there will be at least two more federal funds rate hikes this year, with one possibly as soon as July. The benchmark 10-year note yield jumped 14 basis points to finish the day at 3.85%, while the two-year maturity climbed 13 basis points to close at 4.86%. The inversion between the two still suggests recession is on the way.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished the day modestly higher, with WTI at $69.77 and Brent at $74.28. Wednesday’s report of a giant draw from reserves continued to provide a tailwind for the black gold. Natural gas finished the day up 0.75% at $2.69, as a heatwave continues to sit over Texas and a large swath of the country.
Gold continued its losing streak, closing down 0.32% at $1,916. Gold analysts see strong support at $1,900 for the bullion, which was trading over $2,000 per ounce as recently as late April. Bitcoin rebounded to close up 0.75% at $30,315.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, June 30, 2023.
Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ: ASO): B. Riley Securities initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $63 target price. The consensus target is $68.57, and shares closed on Thursday at $53.15.
Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE: BURL): Piper Sandler initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $155 target price. The consensus target is $213.09. Thursday’s final trade was for $153.61 a share.
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