Pre-Market Stock Futures: <\/p>\n
Futures are trading mixed as we wrap up a wild and woolly week across Wall Street and head into the 3-day Labor Day holiday weekend. All the major indices finished higher Thursday on falling yields and positive words from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who said he would be OK leaving rates unchanged at the Federal Reserve meeting in two weeks if inflation data remained in check. <\/p>\n
That’s all it took for stocks to explode higher out of the gate, and they remained positive until the close. When the final bell sounded, the Nasdaq led the day, closing up 1.4% at 26,584, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 53,686, up 1.18%. The S&P 500 also put in a strong showing, finishing the session up 1.06% at 7,747, and the Russell 2000 closed at 2,966, up 0.46%. Expect a very slow Friday, as most of Wall Street will be out early and starting the long weekend. <\/p>\n
While the market exploded higher on lower yields Thursday, yields weren’t down much. By the close, the 30-year bond traded at 5.25%, while the benchmark 10-year note ended the day at 4.77%. Both are down only about 3 basis points from the recent highs. Non-farm payrolls for August will be released this morning, and rate expectations may hinge on the report’s strength or weakness. <\/p>\n Free Report, Just Released <\/p>\n Did Any of Your Stocks Make the Top 10 List? <\/p>\n It is an uncomfortable question, and there is now an answer to it. <\/p>\n 24\/7 Wall St has helped investors make money for over two decades, and our top analysts just finished ranking the definitive Top 10 Stocks To Buy Now. Not the ten biggest companies. Not the ten everyone is arguing about. The ten best stocks to buy right now.<\/a> <\/p>\n Open your account and look at what you own. Some of it you bought for a reason you could still defend today. Some of it you bought years ago for a reason you can no longer remember. <\/p>\n The report is free. Put the ten next to what you own and find out which is which. <\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n Enter Your Email and See the Ten \u2192<\/a> <\/p>\n Free from 24\/7 Wall St. It lands in your inbox. <\/p>\n Oil and Gas: <\/p>\n Despite continued unrest in the Middle East, crude prices were mixed on Thursday as traders zeroed in on the weekend. The President soothed some frayed nerves Thursday when he said the recent attacks and missile strikes will not be indefinite. At the close, Brent Crude finished at $95.68, up 0.05%, while West Texas\u00a0 Intermediate closed at $91.64, up 0.69%. Natural gas also closed lower Thursday, down 1.35% at $2.92.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Gold: <\/p>\n After an up-and-down week, Gold had a solid day on Thursday, closing at $4,475, up 1.89%, while Silver closed the day at $66.79, up 2.03%. The flight-to-safety appeal of the bullion and ongoing worries over the Middle East continue to keep a bid under the precious metals complex.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Crypto: <\/p>\n Crypto markets rallied sharply on Thursday, with Bitcoin breaking back above $80,000 as fading interest rate fears sparked a broad sector surge. Traders noted that $500 million in liquidations on Thursday, mostly attributed to short-covering, provided some of the wind at Bitcoin’s back. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $81,280, while Ethereum was quoted at $2523. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen on\u00a0 Friday, September 4, 2026.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Upgrades: <\/p>\n Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA<\/a>) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein, with an unchanged $112 target price. <\/p>\n Shell PLC (NYSE: SHEL<\/a>) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which raised the price target to $101.30 from $81.60. <\/p>\n Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC<\/a>) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, which nudged the target price to $27.50 from $26. <\/p>\n Sonida Senior Living (NASDAQ: SNDA)<\/a> was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, which raised the target price to $43 from $37. <\/p>\n W.P. Carey (NYSE: WPC<\/a>) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Bernstein, with an $80 target price. <\/p>\n Downgrades: <\/p>\n Ambarella (NASDAQ: AMBA<\/a>) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Craig-Hallum, which cut the target price for the shares to $70 from $95. <\/p>\n Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM<\/a>) was cut to Hold from Buy at StoneX, without a price target. <\/p>\n Hanson Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure (NASDAQ: HASI<\/a>) was cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS, which dropped the target price to $44 from $51. <\/p>\n TotalEnergies SE (NYSE: TTE<\/a>) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, which bumped the price target for the shares to $90 from $88. <\/p>\n UiPath (NASDAQ: PATH<\/a>) was cut to Hold from Buy at Canaccord, which bumped the target price for the stock to $17 from $15. <\/p>\n Initiations: <\/p>\n Asure Software (NASDAQ: ASUR<\/a>) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Stephens, with an $11 target price. <\/p>\n Belite Bio (NASDAQ: BLTE<\/a>) was initiated with a Buy rating at Canaccord, with a $303 target price. <\/p>\n Lennar (NYSE: LEN<\/a>) was started with a Hold rating at StoneX, without a price target. <\/p>\n Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX<\/a>) was started with an Equal Weight rating at Stephens, with a $132 target price. <\/p>\n Pulte Group (NYSE: PHM)<\/a> was initiated with a Buy rating at StoneX, with a $148 target price.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Got $1,000? Before You Buy Another Stock, Read This <\/p>\n If you have cash sitting in your account right now, give this two minutes. After more than two decades of helping investors beat the market, our top analysts at 24\/7 Wall St. put together a definitive report on the Top 10 Stocks To Buy Today.<\/a> <\/p>\n They combed the entire market. It’s not 10 ideas, not 10 stocks everyone is talking about, it’s what their research point to as the 10 best stocks to buy right now, and it’s free. Read more here and see which stocks made the cut –>><\/a> <\/p>\n<\/a> ESB Professional \/ Shutterstock.com Treasury Bonds: <\/p>\n