The futures were modestly lower to start off the final trading week for the second quarter. It is a good bet we see some big moves this week as portfolio managers look to close out a very solid quarter for stocks. While all the major indexes finished Friday lower, with the Nasdaq leading the decline with a 1% retreat that snapped an eight-week winning streak, with just a few trading days left, there could very well be follow-up selling as everybody across Wall Street looks to book a solid second quarter.
The buyers returned to the Treasury markets Friday, as yields were down across the board. While the impending recession has perhaps been pushed back, the ongoing inversion between the 10-year note and the shorter maturities continues to be a big concern. The benchmark 10-year note closed Friday at 3.74%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.75%. The 101 basis-point difference is the widest in 40 years.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed mixed, with the former up slightly to close at $74.27 while the latter closed slightly lower at $69.16. It looks like increased demand from China and other Asian refiners could be a solid tailwind for the black gold indexes as we head to the end of the quarter this week. Natural gas was the big winner in the energy complex, closing up 4.65% on Friday at $2.73.
After a very rough week, gold bounced back Friday, closing up 0.35% at $1,930.63. Many top commodity strategists feel that gold can rally in the second half of 2023 if the dollar continues to strengthen. Bitcoin was the huge winner last week, as the cryptocurrency giant finished the week up 3.3% at $30,904, after closing a week ago at $26,837, a massive 15% move higher.
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 Monday, June 26, 2023.
Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ: ASO): Wells Fargo resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $68 target price. The consensus target is $68.57, and the stock closed on Friday at $49.76.
Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): When TD Cowen downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform, it lowered the $325 price target to $300. The consensus target is up at $331.79. The shares closed on Friday at $298.43.
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