The futures were trading higher, as the second quarter got underway with a big rally for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 on Monday. The two indexes followed through from last week’s strong finish for the first quarter, while the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 both finished the day lower. Wall Street cheered the ongoing rally, but many feel that is likely close to being over as corporations are in buyback blackouts due to earnings season and commodity trading advisors selling could be huge as we move into the busy first-quarter earnings season.
Treasury yields were lower across the board Monday, as buyers stepped up in a big way after sellers had pushed yields higher last week. Many feel that the surprise move by OPEC will cement yet another interest rate hike when the Federal Reserve meets early next month. The benchmark 10-year note closed at 3.43%, while the two-year paper closed at 3.97%. The 54-basis-point inversion suggests recession is on the way.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were the big stories Monday, with each closing up well over 6%, after OPEC shocked the world over the weekend by announcing production cuts that were confirmed on Monday. The cartel will cut oil production by an additional 1.16M barrels per day. Saudi Arabia will lead the charge by cutting 500,000 barrels per day. Some across Wall Street feel that the production cut could lift benchmark prices by as much as $10.
Gold also had a solid day Monday, after some profit-taking late last week. The bullion closed up to 1% at $1,985. Bitcoin was lower to start the week and the quarter, trading down 1.5% to close at $27,760.
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, April 4, 2023.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM): BMO Capital Markets resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and lifted its $57 target price to $60. The consensus target is $61.83. The shares closed on Monday at $52.53.
Alaska Airlines Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK): Raymond James raised its Outperform rating to Strong Buy, and its $60 target price increased to $68. The consensus target is $62.05. Monday’s close was at $42.10.
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