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Pre-Market Stock Futures:
After a volatile start to the week, futures are trading lower on Tuesday. Markets had plummeted early Monday before the opening bell, only to stage a massive turnaround following news of a potential diplomatic breakthrough. The rally was ignited by President Trump’s announcement of significant progress in negotiations with Iran, alongside a five-day de-escalation period regarding potential military strikes on Iranian power plants. This shift in sentiment was enough to swing futures from a 300-point deficit to a staggering 1,000-point gain. When it was all said and done, all of the major indices finished the day higher, with the small-cap Russell 2000 leading the way up 2.29% to close at 2,494. The tech-heavy Nasdaq finished the session at 21,946, up 1.38%, while the Dow Jones Industrials closed up 1.38% as well, at 46,208. The venerable S&P 500 was last seen at 6,581, higher by 1.15%.
Treasury Bonds:
Treasury debt was higher across the entire curve as buyers emerged after a long run of selling. The planned postponement of strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure eased geopolitical tensions. With yields surging to highs not seen since last June, buyers emerged in a big way on Monday. The 30-year long bond finished Monday at 4.92%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.35%.
Oil and Gas:
Needless to say, after a huge run higher, the major oil indices all plunged as sellers emerged to take profits. Consumers who have seen prices surge at the pump were cheered as Brent Crude closed Monday at $100.40, down a stunning 10.5%, while West Texas Intermediate also closed down double-digits, at $88.13, down 10.28%. Natural gas also finished the day down, closing at $2.89, lower by 6.59%.
Gold:
After getting pummeled for days, the precious metals tried to rally early on, but, once again, by the end of trading, Gold closed lower by 1.87% at $ 4,406. Gold fell below the $ 4,300 level at one point on Monday, following a severe decline last week and extending a nine-session losing streak. Gold futures dropped to their lowest level of 2026, and the combination of heavy leverage and profit-taking continues to weigh on Gold. Silver bucked the trend, closing at $69.02, up 1.96%.
Crypto:
Cryptocurrency markets saw extreme volatility on Monday amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran geopolitical tensions. Bitcoin whipsawed sharply, from around $67,500 to above $71,200, which triggered over $415 million in liquidations across major exchanges in a four-hour window, with the majority hitting long positions as conflicting headlines amplified the chaos. Despite a partial recovery near $71,000 (briefly touching $71,400), Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP all hovered just above key support levels, underscoring crypto’s high sensitivity to rapid geopolitical shifts. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $71,053, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,160.
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 Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
Upgrades:
- CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America, which has a $100 target price objective.
- Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Morgan Stanley, which has a $295 target price for the shares.
- JFrog Ltd. (NASDAQ: FROG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, which has a $60 target price.
- Jinko Solar Holding Co. Ltd (NYSE: JKS) was raised to Buy from Sell at Daiwa, with a $28.50 target price.
- Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, which lifted the target price for the designer and fragrance giant to $400 from $360.
Downgrades:
- Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RARE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, which slashed the target price for the stock to $25 from $61.
- Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Truist Securities, which dropped the target price for the company to $85 from $95.
- Xencor Inc. (NASDAQ: XNCR) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which trimmed the target price for the stock to $13 from $18.
Initiations:
- Alaska Airlines Inc. (NYSE: ALK) was initiated with an Outperform rating at BMO Capital with a $50 target.
- Commvault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) was started with a Buy rating at Loop Capital with a $125 target price objective.
- ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was reinstated with a Hold rating at Truist Securities, which has a $124 target for the energy giant.
- Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Truist Securities with a $222 target price.
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Bank of America, which has a $500 target price for the legacy tech giant.