Wall Street Analysts React as Markets Prepare for Crucial CPI Data
Futures are trading higher as markets prepare to wrap up a holiday-shortened trading week, which has been marked by a brutal selling spree across stocks, bonds, and crypto. The major indices finished Thursday's session lower, with the Russell 2000 taking the biggest hit at 2,890, down 1.04%. The Nasdaq closed out at 26,081, down 0.65%, while the Dow Jones Industrials closed at 52,064, down 0.60%. The S&P 500 rounded out the casualty list, falling 0.58% to end Thursday trading at 7,591.
Wall Street analysts are already reshuffling their ratings on names like Dell and Shopify before the dust settles. Important upgrades include Element Solutions being reinstated with a Buy rating by Goldman Sachs, while International Paper Company was upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Bank of America. In contrast, Atmos Energy was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, and Fortinet was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush.
Crypto prices broadly corrected on Thursday, weighed down by the hotter-than-expected U.S. PPI data and rising Treasury yields amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The Alerian Galaxy Global Cryptocurrency Index fell 2.24% to close at 6,484.48. Bitcoin slid below the $78,000 threshold to trade around $77,000, marking its fourth straight day of declines.