The futures were trading mixed after a lousy start to the trading week across Wall Street. All the major indexes finished lower, with the exception of the Russell 2000, as traders sitting on gains are looking to finish off the quarter nicely higher. They likely will, with the Nasdaq up just shy of 30% so far this year and the S&P 500 up almost 14%. Tech stocks have seen the best first half of the year since 1999.
The laggard so far has been the venerable Dow Jones industrial average, which is up less than 2% so far this year. With corporate buybacks on hold for second-quarter earnings, the market still very overbought and the prospect of more rate hikes (perhaps another one July), we may be in store for a volatile week in front of the 4th of July holiday.
Treasury yields were flat to modestly lower, as some buyers followed through on last week’s gains. Bond traders remain concerned that despite 500 basis points of increases in the federal funds rates, inflation remains stubbornly high and sticky. The potential for a commercial real estate meltdown also keeps a bid under the safe-haven government debt. The 10-year note finished the day at 3.72%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.73%, keeping the inversion between the two bonds at 40-year highs.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished slightly higher. The biggest story across the energy complex Monday was OPEC’s estimates that oil demand could surge a stunning 23% by 2045. This despite more renewables, and a seemingly consistent push to add solar and wind projects. Natural gas followed through on Friday’s gains up 1.6% at $2.77.
Gold followed through on Friday’s gains, as buyers pushed the bullion higher to close at $1,934. Bitcoin, which was on fire last week, finished the day modestly lower as some profit-takers moved in on the cryptocurrency giant. It closed at $30,369 after jumping over 15% last week.
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 Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP): Citing a decade low after a big earnings guide lower, Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $212.25 in the past year but closed most recently at $67.29.
Alliant Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: LNT): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and boosted its $55 price objective to $58. The consensus target is $56.50. Monday’s closing share price was $52.97.
Alnylam Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and has a $249 target price. The consensus target is $249.95, and the stock closed on Monday at $191.35.
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