Wall Street returns from summer vacation to a market suddenly bracing for a rate hike, with fresh analyst calls on Intel, Lockheed Martin, Amgen, and SpaceX adding more pressure points to an already tense week.
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Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are mixed as Wall Street returns from summer vacations to a thicker slate of economic and geopolitical risks. The odds of a rate hike next week are now rising fast. Last Friday, the August nonfarm payrolls crushed expectations, rising 162,000 versus a 55,000 consensus. Selling kicked in immediately, as the market narrative flipped. The print looks counterintuitive at first, but it underscores an economy that is still running hot. That strength likely gives the Federal Reserve the cover it needs to raise the funds rate by 25 basis points at next week’s meeting.
When the final bell rang last Friday, three of the four major indices closed down, with only the small-cap-heavy Russell 2000 closing higher, up 0.27% at 2,976. The Dow Jones Industrials led the way lower, down 0.51% to 53,414, while the S&P 500 closed at 7,718, down 0.38%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq ended the week at 26,506, down 0.29%. The last data point that could seal a rate hike comes Thursday, when the producer price index is released; Friday, we will get the consumer price index. If both come in higher than expected, that could likely clinch a rate hike.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields across the Treasury were modestly higher after the strong employment data, as the only buying across the Treasury complex was on the shortest T-bill maturities. At the close, the 30-year bond was trading at 5.25%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.79%. With vacationing traders returning, we will likely see volatility jump ahead of and after the inflation data later this week.
Oil and Gas:
Prices were mixed in the energy sector, as overall crude finished the week up 9% on the back of the renewal of missile attacks by the U.S. and Iran. When the dust settled, Friday Brent Crude was higher by 0.38% at $95.88, while West Texas Intermediate closed lower at $91.21, down 0.10%. Natural gas finished the week strong, closing up 1% at $2.94.
Gold:
After a wild week, the precious metals finished Friday’s session lower on the back of the employment numbers. Gold closed at $4,428, down 0.97%, while Silver was last seen at $66.02, down 1.23%. With the potential for a rate hike, non-yielding assets like precious metals are less attractive.
Crypto:
The crypto sector was highly volatile on Friday, with Bitcoin climbing as high as $82,000 before falling back below $80,000 after the stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report. With more potential market-moving data on the way this week, we could see more volatility, especially after the recent big crypto rally. At 8 AM, Bitcoin is trading at $78,210, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,473.
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 from Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN | ETN Price Prediction) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Aretem, with a $515 target price.
- Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Northland, with a $120 target price.
- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at UBS, with a $674 target price.
- Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Arete with a $152 target price.
- Synopsys (NASDAQ: SNPS) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which has a $500 target price for the shares.
Downgrades:
- Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital, with a $450 target price for the biotech giant.
- Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Arete, with a $108 target price.
- Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was cut to Neutral from Buy at DA Davidson, which has a $95 target price for the shares.
- Gulfport Energy (NASDAQ: GPOR) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at JPMorgan, which slashed the target price to $194 from $240.
- Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Phillip Securities, with a $346 target price.
Initiations:
- Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) was initiated with a Market Perform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, which has a $105 target price.
- Corning (NYSE: GLW) was initiated with a Buy rating at China Renaissance, with a $238 target price.
- Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK) was started with an Outperform rating at RBC Capital, with an $89 target price.
- Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) was started with a Buy rating at Pivotal, with a $220 target price.
- TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF) was initiated with a Buy rating at Freedom Capital with a $19 target price objective.
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