The futures were lower, after a big bounce back on Tuesday that saw all the major indexes close higher, as well as a stunning reversal in the banking sector after the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. There was a small sigh of relief as the February consumer price index numbers came in pretty much in line with estimates, with core figure slightly above consensus. This caused some across Wall Street to ruminate that the Federal Reserve may pause and not raise interest rates later this month. History disagrees, as the Fed was raising rates during the 1987 stock market crash and up until the meltdown in the fall of 2008.
Treasury yields soared on Tuesday, after some of the panic from the Silicon Valley Bank failure subsided. The Federal Reserve backstop against uninsured deposits is raising eyebrows, but it moved some out of the safe haven of government securities. Yields across the curve were up double digits, while the benchmark 30-year long bond closed at 3.76%, up 10 basis points. The two-year and 10-year inversion widened with the selling, as the short paper closed at 4.30%, up a stunning 22 basis points, while the other note closed at 3.64% The ongoing inversion suggests recession is on the horizon.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both were hammered on the day, despite estimates for a big increase in Chinese crude demand. WTI closed down close to 5% at $71.33, while Brent finished the day at $77.65, down almost 4%. Analysts cited the concerns over the banking sector for the weakness, as many across the energy complex and Wall Street feel that another shoe in the financial world may be ready to drop.
After spiking higher on Monday, gold gave up some gains Tuesday closing modestly lower, while Bitcoin continued to trade higher, up almost 2% on the day, to finish at $24,584. This after trading below $20,000 a month ago.
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, March 15, 2023.
Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ: ASO): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $73 target price. The consensus target is $69.50. The stock closed almost 3% higher Tuesday at $59.97.
Acushnet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOLF): Compass Point downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $55 target price. The consensus target is $53. The stock closed on Tuesday at 49.58.
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