The futures traded up slightly as we start the holiday-shortened final trading week for 2023. The major indices closed mixed last Friday to cap off the eighth straight winning week as volume died out after noon as traders were on their way to celebrate the holiday. With only four trading days left in the year, we could very possibly see some sharp moves up and down as retail and institutional investors adjust their books after an incredible year that saw the Nasdaq up a stunning 44% and on track for the best year since 1999, and the S&P 500 up just shy of 25%.
Bonds
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Treasury yields were essentially flat across the curve on very light volume as, once again, buyers focused on the shorter six-month to five-year maturities. At the same time, sellers took profits on the longer maturities. Given the sharp rally in government bonds since August, we could see some year-end profit-taking. The 10-year benchmark note closed on Friday at 3.90%, while the two-year paper was last seen at 4.33%. While the inversion has narrowed, a recession could still be in the cards 2024.
Commodities
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the week modestly lower, with the big news for the sector being Angola in central Africa choosing to depart from OPEC as the country continues to dispute the production cuts the cartel has set. Brent closed at $79.07, while WTI was last seen at $73.49. Natural gas won again Friday, closing up 1.32% at $2.61.
Gold finished a solid week modestly lower, with the February futures contract ending the session at $2,064.50. The chatter around the bullion remains the same as bulls point to the potential for rate cuts in 2024. Bitcoin closed lower Friday at $43,739.30. (These are the biggest celebrity cryptocurrency losers.)
Here are the top Wall Street ratings changes for Tuesday, December 26, 2023. There have been no upgrades reported Tuesday morning.
Downgrades
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AlloVir Inc. (NASDAQ: ALVR) from Buy to Underperform at BofA Securities, and its price target dropped from $17 to $1.
United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) from Outperform to Neutral with a $155 price target at Daiwa Securities.
Other Analyst Calls
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Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTR) initiated at J.P. Morgan with an Overweight rating and a price target of $86.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reiterated Buy rating and price target increased from $160 to $175 at Needham.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated Buy rating and the $195 price target increased to $220 at Needham.
Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARM) reiterated Buy rating from Rosenblatt, with a price target increase from $85 to $110.
Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MPWR) reiterated Buy rating from Rosenblatt, with a price target increase from $550 to $750.
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