The futures traded sharply lower after an attack on Israel by Hamas over the weekend. That prompted Israel to declare war on the Iran-backed group. All the major indexes closed Friday higher after a big early sell-off. Once again, soaring interest rates took their toll initially on stocks Friday, after a stunning 336,000 jobs were reported for September, compared with estimates for 170,000. With the resumption of student loan payments, and sharply higher interest rates, many feel that the lagging effects of a year and a half of tightening by the Federal Reserve are just starting to hit the economy. They may hit even harder as we finish out the year.
Treasury yields soared higher across the entire curve on Friday, after the massive jobs report dropped like a bomb on traders. The 10-year benchmark note closed at 4.80%, back near a 16-year high, while the two-year paper finished at 5.08%. The inversion between the two widened substantially on Friday, after it recently had narrowed to the thinnest margin in a year. History indicates the ongoing inversion between the two suggests recession is on the way in 2024.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed higher Friday, after a rough week for the black gold. Oil prices had their sharpest weekly drop in six months, as traders continue to focus on consumer demand. Brent finished trading at $84.46, while WTI closed at $82.86. Both were well over the $90 level just a week ago.
However, oil futures Monday soared over 3% higher after the attack on Israel. Natural gas closed out an outstanding week up over 5% to finish at $3.33, the highest closing print since last January.
Gold also closed higher Friday after a tough week for the bullion. Eeking out a solid gain after first hitting a 10-month low was somewhat impressive, given the much higher-than-expected job numbers. The December contract finished the day up 0.80% at $1,847. Gold futures were almost 1% higher early Monday, after the Israel terrorist attack. Bitcoin closed the day up 2% at $27,967.30.
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 Monday, October 9, 2023.
AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO): Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to Perform from Outperform and lowered its $2,850 target price to $2,600. The consensus target is $2,847.37. The shares closed on Friday at $2.549.04.
Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): TD Cowen started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $59 target price. The consensus target is up at $78.58. Shares closed at $43.83 on Friday.
Cambridge Bancorp (NASDAQ: CATC): When Keefe Bruyette upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform, its $56 target price jumped to $79.30. The consensus target is $69.77. Friday’s closing share price was $60.22.
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