The major indices finished down for a second day in a row. The Nasdaq led the charge, closing at 14,855.62, down 0.60%. The S&P 500 was last seen at 4,7839.21, down 0.56%, while the venerable Dow Jones industrials fared better, closing at 37,266.67, down 0.25%. The same issues providing the tailwind for the selling remain in place; hopes for a quick cut in interest rates are fading fast, yields continue higher and the overbought status of all the indexes is calling out profit takers.

Bonds

The yields on Treasury debt surged again Wednesday as sellers stepped in across the curve. The 10-year note closed the day at 4.11%, and the two-year note was last seen at 4.36%. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon noted Wednesday that he is very cautious about the U.S. economy over the next two years due to financial and geopolitical risks.

Commodities

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed mixed, with Brent down modestly to finish at $78.02, while WTI closed higher by 0.52% at $72.78, as U.S. gasoline prices ended a two-week losing streak. Many across the energy complex still fear an expansion of the fighting in the Middle East and the potential for the conflict to spread. Despite record-setting low temperatures in many parts of the country, natural gas closed lower, down 1.03%, at $2.87.

Gold also was a loser on Wednesday. The February contract finished the session down over 1% at $2,008.40 and has fallen almost 3% this week. While there could be a degree of support for the bullion, going through the $2,000 level could trigger even more selling. Bitcoin closed down over 1% to finish Wednesday at $42,660.60.

Here are the top Wall Street analyst upgrades and downgrades for Thursday, January 18, 2024.

Upgrades

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from Neutral to Buy with a $208 price target lifted to $225 at BofA Securities. (25 huge companies that Apple could buy right now with cash.)

Grab Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRAB) from Neutral to Overweight with a price target increase from $3.60 to $3.80 at J.P. Morgan.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) from Peer Perform to Outperform with a price target of $105 at Wolfe Research.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) at Exane BNP Paribas from Neutral to Outperform with a price target of $471.

Downgrades

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) from Neutral to Underperform with a price target of $499 at Exane BNP Paribas.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) from Outperform to Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette, which also cut its $75 price target to $70.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) from Neutral to Underperform at Exane BNP Paribas. No price target was given.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVE) from Neutral to Sell and the $13 price target lowered to $4 at Citigroup.

Initiations

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) with an Outperform rating and price target of $334 at Berstein.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW) with an Outperform rating and price target of $402 at Bernstein.

SentinelOne Inc. (NYSE: S) with an Outperform rating and price target of $34 at Bernstein.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) with an Outperform rating and price target of $311 at Bernstein.

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