Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading lower after a big-time risk-off Friday, in which all major indices declined, as Thursday’s selling carried through. The combination of end-of-month profit-taking, the announcement of President Trump’s pick, Kevin Warsh, to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve, concerns about the direction of monetary policy with his appointment, and a massacre of precious metals all helped to drive share prices lower on Friday, with the weakness in the metals carrying through to today. In addition, the Producer Price Index for final demand jumped 0.5%, the largest increase in months, with a 3.0% annual increase, indicating inflation remains sticky. The Nasdaq was the biggest loser on Friday despite some strong tech stock earnings, closing down 0.94% at 23,461. The Dow Jones Industrials finished the session at 48,892, down 0.36%, and the S&P 500, which ended the month positive, closed Friday at 6,939, down 0.43%. The small-cap Russell 2000 closed at 2,617, down 1.40%, but still ended the month as the leading index for January.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were mixed across the Treasury curve as the market digested the news that Kevin Warsh was being tapped as the next Federal Reserve Chairman. Wall Street reportedly prefers the pick because they believe Mr. Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, will preserve the Federal Reserve’s independence and integrity while maintaining a strong stance on inflation. The 30-year bond closed at 4.88% on Friday, while the 10-year note was last at 4.25%.
Oil and Gas:
The energy complex took a slight breather, though it still rose on Friday after a solid week in which both benchmarks soared. Concerns over a potential armed conflict with Iran kept a strong bid under the sector. Brent crude finished Friday up 0.46% at $69.91, while West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.54% to end the week at $65.77. Natural gas, which has been literally and figuratively on fire, closed Thursday up 11.38% at $4.36. The continued frigid weather across much of the United States, along with the threat of a bomb cyclone this weekend that will hit the East Coast, helped prop up prices on Friday.
Gold:
In a massive reversal of what we have seen over the last couple of years, the precious metals were hammered on Friday and are continuing lower to start the week. The main culprit, of course, was plain old profit-taking after an incredible run over the last year. The massive decline in Silver likely prompted margin calls, as day traders had been piling into the ETFs and individual stock shares for months. For the record, over the past year, gold and silver have soared 80% and 209%, respectively, so while the selling was dramatic, it should come as no surprise given those substantial and remarkable gains. Gold closed Friday at $4,872, down 9.41%, while Silver finished Friday’s session at $84.50, down a stunning 27%, the worst day since 1980.
Crypto:
The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn on Friday, with Bitcoin sliding to a two-month low as investors reacted to potential tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The sell-off was also fueled by concerns over a possible “risk-off” environment, a stronger U.S. dollar, and cryptocurrencies like precious metals have seen a massive rally over the last few years, and many are starting to feel that it is not the hedge that many feel it is not the store of value that Gold is. At 8 AM EST, Bitcoin was trading at $77,944, while Ethereum was trading at $2,304.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports daily to identify new investment ideas for both investors and traders. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock.
Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen on Monday, February 2, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at Phillip Securities, which boosted the target price on the stock to $260 from $230.
- Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan, which has set a $319 target price objective.
- McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG with a $360 price target.
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at Phillip Securities with a $540 target price.
- Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Arete, which lifted the target price for the music streaming giant to $175 from $166.
Downgrades:
- Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight, and the target price for the legacy retailer was cut to $76 from $99.
- Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC, which actually lifted their target price on the integrated giant to $180 from $169.
- Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Loop Capital, which lowered the target price for the shares to $130 from $140.
- Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) was cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at ScotiaBank, with an $85 price target.
- Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which slashed the target price for the shares to $174 from $262.
Initiations:
- Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE: CRCL) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating at Morgan Stanley with a $66 target price.
- Hut8 Corp. (NYSE: HUT) was assumed with a Buy rating at H.C. Wainwright with a Buy rating and an $80 target price objective.
- Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was started with a Buy rating at Phillip Securities with a $500 target price.
- Venture Global Inc. (NYSE: VG) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Raymond James, which has an $11 target price for the company.
- WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) Morgan Stanley assumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and lowered the target price to $144 form $168.
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