The futures were trading mixed after a solid bounceback day for the equity markets on Wednesday that followed a brutal sell-off on Tuesday, which was the worst day for stocks since last March. All the major indexes closed higher on Wednesday, as bargain hunters sifted through the rubble. All eyes will now turn to the monthly payroll data due out on Friday morning; estimates are for 170,000 jobs added. Some feel the job market could be cooling after the ADP private payroll numbers came in at 89,000, way below the expectations for 160,000. The August ADP numbers were revised higher to 180,000.
Stocks also got a boost as Treasury yields finally stopped the surge higher that has taken the risk-free debt to levels not seen in 16 years. Yields were down across the curve, as bargain-seeking buyers were very active. The 10-year note closed at 4.74%, while the two-year paper was last seen at 5.05%. The spread between them has narrowed to its least inverted point in a year.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both pounded on Wednesday. Each of the major benchmarks closed down over 5%. Brent finished the session at $86.00, while WTI was last seen trading at $84.22. This is despite a 2.2 million barrel inventory build and confirmation that OPEC+ would maintain its production cuts. A build in gasoline inventory and plain old profit raking were cited for the oil weakness. Natural gas had a solid day, closing up over 1% at $2.96.
Gold continued its downward spiral Wednesday, as the December contract closed down 0.33% at $1,835.40. Despite some dollar weakness and lower bond yields, the sellers continued to hold serve. Some reasonably positive economic data also help to spur the selling. Bitcoin, which has been crushed, was modestly higher, finishing the session up 1.09% at $27,727.40.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each weekday 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 Thursday, October 5, 2023.
America Movil SAB de C.V. (NYSE: AMX): UBS upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral but trimmed its $25 target price to $22. The consensus target is $4021.22. The shares closed on Wednesday at $16.89.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $2,225 target price. The consensus target is $2,176.10, and the closing share price on Wednesday was $1,857.99.
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $458 target price. The consensus target is $446.15. Wednesday’s close was at $377.00.
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