Pre-Market Stock Futures:
The futures are trading higher as traders and investors came in yet again to buy the dip on Tuesday after the market opened, then plunged over 1,100 points before rallying back. While none of the major indices ended the day higher, as some did on Monday, they all recovered sharply from their lows. The small-cap Russell 2000 took the biggest hit on Tuesday, closing down 1.79% at 2,608, with the Nasdaq not far behind, finishing the session at 22,516, down 1.02%. The S&P 500 was last seen at 6,816, down 0.94%, and the Dow Jones Industrials closed the sell-off victims category, down 0.83% at 48,501. While it is likely we will continue to see a volatility-driven rollercoaster market, we have yet to see a massive “get me out now” moment, which is somewhat reassuring.
Treasury Bonds:
In a replay of Monday, yields were higher across the Treasury curve as investors try to gauge the need for seemingly safe investments, such as Treasury debt, which has risen sharply over the last year. Stubborn inflationary pressures and rising oil prices from the war with Iran are prompting investors to demand higher returns, overriding traditional “safe-haven” buying of bonds. The 30-year-long bond closed trading Tuesday at 4.71%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.07%.
Oil and Gas:
Needless to say, much of Wall Street’s focus has been on energy prices exploding higher, and Tuesday was no exception. Just as with stocks, spot energy pricing, which was up almost 9% in early trading, eased back as the day went on, and while the benchmarks closed higher, the damage was much less than earlier in the day. Brent Crude closed Tuesday at $81.94, up 5.4%, while West Texas Intermediate was last seen at $74.56, up 4.7%. Natural gas closed at $3.04, up 3.18% on the day.
Gold:
A stronger dollar and profit-taking traders helped to drive Gold lower on Tuesday, after a huge rally for the bullion over the last month. Sector analysts also pointed out Tuesday that current central bank demand for gold in 2026 has dropped 82% from 2025, while sovereign demand has expanded. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $5,087, down 4.23%, while silver ended the day at $81.93, down a whopping 8.16%.
Crypto:
The cryptocurrency markets saw a volatile trading session, trading across the day in the red as risk aversion intensified amid the escalating war between the U.S. and Iran. Bitcoin saw significant volatility, falling to around $66,000–$67,000 intraday after attempting to hold higher levels, as investors reacted to rising oil prices and broader market instability, and, once again, the strengthening U.S. dollar. At 8 AM EST, Bitcoin traded at $70,907, while Ethereum traded at $2,048.
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 Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) | DOW Price Prediction was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at KeyBanc with a $38 target price.
- Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Telsy Advisory, which raised the target price on the discount retailer to $240 from $220.
- RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, which has a $125 target price for the stock.
- Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein, which raised the target price for the retail giant to $116 from $89.
- Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Bank of America, which has a $460 target price for the EV giant.
Downgrades:
- Cooper Companies Inc. (NYSE: COO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Rothschild & Co. Redburn, which lowered the target price for the shares to $85 from $92.
- First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was cut to Hold from Buy at GLJ Research, which slashed the target price to $207.82 from $314.43.
- GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Piper Sandler, with a $28 target price, which is down from $55.
- Select Medical Holdings Corp. (NYSE: SEM) was cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, which nudged the target price for the stock to $16.50 from $16.20.
- Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which dropped the target price for the stock to $320 from $335.
Initiations:
- Chime Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: CHYM) was started with an Overweight rating at KeyBanc with a $30 target price.
- General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Bank of America, which has a $105 target for the automotive giant.
- Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX) was initiated with a Neutral rating at DA Davidson, with a $65 target price.
- SPX Technologies Inc. (NYSE: SPXC) was started with an Overweight rating at JPMorgan, with a $260 target price.
- Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) was initiated with a Buy rating at Truist, which has a $190 target price for the high-end homebuilder.
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