Futures are trading higher heading into the busiest week of the second quarter earnings season, with more than 150 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report results.
Four of the so-called Magnificent 7 companies are among the key highlights set to report earnings during this pivotal week for markets.
The Dow Jones Industrials posted a solid 0.46% gain on Friday, finishing the week at 51,974, while the S&P 500 eked out a marginal 0.05% gain to close at 7,411.
The Nasdaq closed at 24,978, down 0.64%, pressured by a fresh wave of selling in chip stocks that weighed on the broader technology sector.
The small-cap Russell 2000, which remains the leading index in 2026 with a gain of 17.6%, closed down 0.34% at 2,930 on Friday.
Oil prices retreated sharply after Reuters reported that Pakistan and Iran, supported by China, are seeking to restart stalled peace negotiations with the United States.
Brent Crude ended Friday at $98.03, down 2.64%, while West Texas Intermediate settled at $90.31, down 2.04%, and natural gas closed at $2.88, down 1.17%.
Gold closed Friday at $4,051, up 0.08%, while Silver finished the session at $58.09, up 0.98%, as safe-haven buying returned to the precious metals complex.
JPMorgan reiterated its $4,500 year-end gold target, which would represent a significant move higher from current trading levels if realized.
Bitcoin was trading at $65,149 and Ethereum was quoted at $1,962 as of 8 AM EDT Monday, following a sharp Friday selloff driven by tech weakness and macro headwinds.
On the upgrades front, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at Phillip Securities, which trimmed its price target to $425 from $450 for the search and advertising giant.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, which raised its price target on the legacy automaker to $17.50 from $14.50.
Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, with the firm bumping its target price for the EV maker to $20 from $18.
Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ: RKLB) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at KGI Securities, which assigned a $107 target price to the space launch company.
Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ: SIRI) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Wells Fargo, which lifted its target price sharply to $30 from $18.
Among the day’s downgrades, Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America, which sliced its price target to $18.50 from $20.
Stellantis NV (NYSE: STLA) received a double downgrade at Piper Sandler, moving from Overweight to Underweight, with the firm cutting its price target to $4 from $14 for the Jeep and Dodge parent.
Warner Bros. Discovery (NYSE: WBD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Seaport Research, while Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs with a trimmed target of $16 from $18.
On the initiations front, Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) was started with a Buy rating at Bank of America with a $360 price target, while Terawulf (NASDAQ: WULF) was initiated with a Buy at Chardon and a $32 target.
Cadre Holdings (NYSE: CDRE), Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RYTM), and Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) also received new coverage, with JPMorgan and Piper Sandler assigning Overweight ratings and targets of $40, $145, and $253 respectively.
