Markets are taking a beating as crude oil surges past $100 and Treasury yields hit multi-year highs, setting up a make-or-break inflation report that could seal the Fed’s next move. Wall Street analysts are already repositioning across semiconductors, biotech, and…
Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading lower after a second brutal day, with all major indices finishing lower again. Rising rates, Brent Crude trading above $100, and what appears to be an increase in the Iran attacks in the Persian Gulf were all it took for sellers to keep hitting bids. Once again, the small-cap Russell 2000 led the major indices lower, closing at 2,919, down 1.40%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at 26,253, down 0.64%.
The Dow Jones Industrials closed the session at 52,381, down 0.77%, and the S&P 500 finished the day at 7,636, down 0.48%. August inflation data starts this morning with the producer price index, expected to come in at 0.4% for the headline month-over-month print and 0.3% for the core, which excludes energy and food; the consumer price index data will hit Friday morning. Should they come in above estimates, that will all but assure a rate hike when the Federal Reserve meets next week.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were higher across the entire curve after it was announced that the Treasury Department will buy back less long-term government debt than initially anticipated. Some on Wall Street pegged the amount as high as $10 billion, but the final total will be $6 billion. When the final bell rang, the 30-year bond closed at 5.29%, while the benchmark 10-year note closed at 4.84%, the highest in almost 3 years.
Oil and Gas:
The energy complex extended its surge higher as the conflict with Iran continues to ramp up to levels not seen since before the summer. Brent Crude finished the day at $101.60, up 3.76%, while West Texas Intermediate was last seen at $96.68, up 3.94%. Natural gas was the big loser Wednesday, closing down 3.74% at $2.81.
Gold:
Precious metals returned to their winning ways yesterday as central bank gold demand and ongoing geopolitical tensions keep a firm bid under the group. Gold closed the session at $4,400 up 1.06%, while Silver finished trading at $67.16 up 2.33%. As we mentioned this week, Goldman Sachs reiterated its year-end $4,900 target price for the bullion, which, if correct, could suggest a strong fourth-quarter move.
Crypto:
Crypto traded mixed-to-defensive on Wednesday as the escalation in the Middle East pushed Brent crude above $100 a barrel. Bitcoin still held up, rising to around $79,700 and tracking gold rather than falling equities. Despite the shaky macro backdrop, leveraged long positions in crypto derivatives held firm, effectively a bet that Bitcoin can weather the oil shock and hold its ground into Friday’s inflation data, which will help shape expectations for the Fed’s September meeting next week. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin is trading at $77,810, while Ethereum is quoted at $2,459.
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 Thursday, September 10, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT | CAT Price Prediction) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Freedom Broker, with a $980 target price.
- DT Midstream (NYSE: DTM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, with a $170 target price.
- Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which raised the target price for the tech giant to $820 from $640.
- Novartis (NYSE: NVS) was raised to Hold from Reduce at HSBC, which bumped the target price for the stock to $136 from $123.
- Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, which raised the target price to $175 from $165.
Downgrades:
- Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC, which trimmed the target price for the biotech giant to $425 from $445.
- AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at BNO Capital, with an unchanged $115 target price.
- Chewy (NYSE: CHWY) was downgraded to In Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI, with a $25 target price.
- Cooper Companies (NYSE: COO) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which cut the target price for the shares to $59 from $86.
- Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Arete, which has a $74 target price.
Initiations:
- Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Piper Sandler, with a $60 target price.
- Mach Natural Resources (NYSE: MNR) was resumed with a Buy rating at Stifel, which has a $15 target price.
- NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Piper Sandler, with a $300 target price.
- SK hynix (NASDAQ: SKHY) was initiated with an Overweight rating at JPMorgan, with a $245 target price.
- Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) was resumed with a Buy rating at Stifel, with an $85 target price.
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