Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading lower after a strong bounce-back day for all the major indices, except the Nasdaq. Powerful earnings releases for the second quarter, tumbling oil prices, and most across Wall Street agree that the Federal Reserve Chariman Kevin Warsh will keep interest rates where they are now. The Dow Jones Industrial traded over 500 points higher to close up 1.03% at $52,747, while the S&P 500 had a more muted day, gaining 0.21% to 7,428. The small-cap Russell 2000, which is still leading all of the major indices this year, closed at 2,954, up 0.25%. The Nasdaq, which closed well off the lows of the day, was under pressure again as semiconductor stocks continued to be sold amid a big rotation. When the final bell rang, the Nasdaq stood at 28,876, down 0.22%. With more big earnings on the way this week, we could see more of the same.
Treasury Bonds:
Just like Monday, yields were lower across the entire yield curve for the same reason: investors grabbed some of the highest Treasury yields since 2025. Falling oil prices and concerns over inflation were a solid tailwind for the Treasury complex and could continue this week if rates do indeed stay where they are. The 30-year long bond closed Tuesday’s session at 5.09%, while the 10-year note was last seen at 4.60%.
Oil and Gas:
Oil prices plunged again on Tuesday to a 2-week low as hopes for a settlement of the Iran conflict remained an ongoing triggering flash point for every move higher or lower. When the final bell rang, Brent Crude closed at $83.92, down 5.02%, while West Texas Intermediate closed at $79.18, down 4.15%. Natural gas closed the day at $2.64, down 4.55%.
Gold:
Things didn’t go quite as well for the precious metals on Tuesday. A stronger dollar and some caution ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting, where the higher-for-longer mantra is becoming more entrenched, weighed on prices. The closing price for Gold was $4,029, down 1.14%, while Silver closed at $57.01, down 2.21%.
Crypto:
Cryptocurrency markets traded lower on Tuesday, pushed down by falling Bitcoin prices, fading hopes for the CLARITY Act, and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. Bitcoin dropped approximately 3% to $63,000, touching a 10-day low and briefly dipping to $62,684 before recovering later in the afternoon. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin traded at $64,405, while Ethereum traded at $1,912.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports every day to identify fresh investment ideas for investors and traders alike. These daily analyst notes include recommendations on stocks to buy, sell, or avoid, as well as new coverage initiations. Important reminder: No single analyst report should ever be the sole basis for buying or selling a stock.
Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Clear Street, with a $290 target price.
- CarMax (NYSE: KMX | KMX Price Prediction) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, which lifted the target price for the shares to $60 from $38.
- Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, which bumped the target price for the legacy automobile company to $20 from $19.
- Noble (NYSE: NE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Fearnley, with a $50 target price.
- Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Arete, with a $405 target price. ,
Downgrades:
- Caesars Entertainment (NYSE: CZR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at TD Cowen, with an unchanged $31 target price objective.
- Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which slashed the target price for the stock to $900 from $1.200.
- HF Sinclair (NYSE: DINO) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Freedom Broker, which raised the target price for the shares to $73 from $62.
- MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Wolfe Research, without a target price.
- Oneok (NYSE: OKE) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, which trimmed the target price for the shares to $103 from $113.
Initiations:
- Kinetik Holdings (NYSE: KNTK) was resumed with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley, with a $64 target price.
- NeoVolta (NASDAQ: NEOV) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Northland, with a $15 target price.
- Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) was started with an Overweight rating at KeyBanc, with a $225 target price for the shares.
- Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs, with a $300 target price.
- Xanadu Quantum Technologies (NASDAQ: XNDU) was initiated with an Outperform rating at CIBC, with a $22 target price.
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