Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading modestly higher as we hit the midweek mark, and some buyers’ exhaustion likely played a role, as all the major indices finished lower on Tuesday. This comes after both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit all-time highs once again earlier this week. The combination of mixed earnings, some AI chatter on OpenAI results, and the ongoing conflict with Iran all weighed on shares yesterday. The Russell 2000, which has been the leading index year to date, closed down 1.21% at 2,753, while the Nasdaq finished the session down 0.90% at 24,663. The S&P 500 was last seen at 7,138, down 0.49%, and the venerable Dow Jones Industrial closed barely lower, down just 0.05% at 49,141.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were mostly higher across the Treasury curve once again, as sellers who started the week off to the downside in U.S. sovereign debt returned. The usual reasons for selling, such as geopolitical worries, bloated government budgets, the situation in Iran, and basic concerns over the fiscal outlook for the U.S. economy, were front and center Tuesday. The 30-year-long bond closed the day at 4.94%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.35%.
Oil and Gas:
The energy complex traded higher on Tuesday after the United Arab Emirates shocked the energy world by announcing it was leaving OPEC immediately, with its departure from the cartel set for May 1st. That, plus some escalation in the fighting with Iran, was all that it took to send prices higher. Brent Crude finished the day at $110.80, up 2.3%, while West Texas Intermediate was last seen at $99.61, up 3.36%. Natural gas closed Tuesday at $2.55, up 0.16%.
Gold:
Precious metals have been under pressure for the past week, and the trend continued on Tuesday. The ongoing selling was driven by the familiar combination of geopolitical tensions, inflationary pressures, and a stronger U.S. dollar, which diminishes the appeal of non-yielding precious metals, prompting sellers to act. Gold closed the session at $4,595, down 1.84%, while Silver ended the day at $72.97, down 3.2%.
Crypto:
Cryptocurrency prices corrected on Tuesday amid cautious investor sentiment and broader risk-off market dynamics. Bitcoin dipped below $77,000 as it retreated from recent weekly highs, while Ethereum slipped below $2,300 and XRP faced heightened downside pressure. The pullback aligned with caution ahead of key events, such as the Federal Reserve meeting. Reports noted mixed or recent ETF flows for Bitcoin, though some pressure from outflows or rotation contributed to the day’s downside. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $77,570, while Ethereum was trading at $2,333.
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, April 29, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) | BEN Price Prediction was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays, which lifted the target price for the asset management giant to $31 from $26.
- Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Rosenblatt, which slashed the target price for the music streaming giant to $500 from $670.
- T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer, with a $260 target price objective.
- Victoria’s Secret (NYSE: VSCO) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America, which bumped the target price for the shares to $68 from $58.
- Zeta Global Holdings (NYSE: ZETA) was upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc with a $22 target price.
Downgrades:
- Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Daiwa, which cut the target price for the medical devices giant to $60 from $83.
- Brown-Forman (NYSE: BF-B) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which trimmed the target price for the spirits leader to $23 from $27.
- MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, which dropped the target price for the company in a big way, to $2,050 from $2,700.
- StoneCo (NASDAQ: STNE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, which dropped the target price for the shares to $14 from $20.
- Sysco (NYSE: SYY) was cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, which lowered the target price for the stock to $84 from $90.
Initiations:
- Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) was initiated with an Outperform rating at BNP Paribas, with a $209 target price.
- Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) was resumed with a Neutral rating at JPMorgan, with a $215 target price for the stock.
- Legence (NASDAQ: LGN) was started with a Buy rating at Loop Capital, which has a $96 target price for the shares.
- PicPay (NASDAQ: PICS) was started with a Buy rating at BTG Pactual with a $20 target price.
- WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ: WVE) was assumed with a Buy rating at Truist, which demolished the target price for the stock to $15 from $50.
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