The futures were mixed after a huge bounce back Tuesday that saw all the major indexes finish the day solidly higher. Some positive durable goods numbers, huge new home sales and a positive consumer sentiment reading contributed to a tailwind for stocks as portfolio managers continued end-of-quarter window dressing with just three trading days left. With second-quarter earnings right around the corner, and what could end up being a long 4th of July weekend with the national holiday next Tuesday, we could see increased trading activity between now and the close on Friday.
Treasury yields were higher across the curve, after a solid rally had brought buyers in over the past three days. Cooling tensions in Russia and the solid economic data likely contributed to the weakness. The benchmark 10-year paper finished the day at a 3.77% yield, while the short two-year note closed at 4.75%. The inversion between the two suggests to bond trades and others that a recession is on the way.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day lower, as concerns over demand in the United States put pressure on both. This comes despite the uncertainty in Russia and Chinese efforts to boost its economy with even more new stimulus. Natural gas continued its winning ways, tacking on another 0.40% to close at $2.80. Needless to say, the heatwave across Texas and much of the country provided a solid boost.
Gold finished the day lower, and analysts cited the solid new home sales as one of the reasons for the weakness. Toss in rising consumer confidence numbers, and all the ingredients were in place for a down day, as the bullion finished lower by 0.50% at $1,924. Bitcoin regained the $30,000 level, closing at $30,620. The potential for a strong July for the cryptocurrency giant buoyed the buyers on Tuesday.
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 Wednesday, June 28, 2023.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA): Bernstein downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and dropped its $130 target price to $98. The consensus target is up at $139.90. The final trade on Tuesday was for $87.13 a share.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Bernstein lowered its Outperform rating to Market Perform with a $125 target price. The consensus target is $132.80. Tuesday’s closing share price was $118.33.
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