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(C) Reuters.

By Davit Kirakosyan

Here is your Pro Recap of the biggest analyst cuts you may have missed since yesterday: downgrades at Dell, Crocs , and Verint Systems , and initiation with Underperform rating at Cloudflare.

InvestingPro subscribers got this news first. Never miss another market-moving headline.

Dell falls on Barclays downgrade

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) shares fell some 3% before the bell Thursday after Barclays downgraded the company to Underweight from Equalweight with a price target of $53.00, as reported in real time on InvestingPro.

Barclays cited the recent surge in Dell’s stock price in its decision, which the analysts say has brought the stock’s valuation out of near- and long-term trading ranges.

The analysts also note that they “see challenges in the PC and Server/Storage end markets on challenging macro, and don’t think AI will be enough to offset these pressures.”

Dell shares were recently changing hands at $68.40 in Thursday’s premarket.

Cloudflare started at Underperform

BofA Securities initiated coverage on Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) with an Underperform rating and a price target of $52.00. As a result, shares fell more than 3% pre-market today.

The bank noted that while Cloudflare excels in web delivery and web security, the company faces two key challenges: softening demand from enterprise clients and convincing customers to adopt new solutions like Zero Trust and Edge Compute.

We believe that the challenges to address the enterprise market could translate into lower estimates than the Street anticipated, and our CY24 billings growth estimate of 27% is slightly lower than the Street’s 29%.

Two more downgrades

Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) shares fell more than 2% pre-market today after B.Riley downgraded the company to Neutral from Buy and cut its price target to $101.00 from $125.00.

The firm cited concerns about excess footwear inventory in stores and warehouses, anticipating that the sales cadence of footwear/apparel/accessories will likely slow/turn negative year-over-year on a nominal basis in September/through the remainder of 2023.

Oppenheimer downgraded Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) to Perform from Outperform.

Shares dropped more than 17% pre-market today following the company’s reported Q2 EPS and revenue miss and disappointing full-year guidance.

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(C) Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man works at the Tokyo Stock Exchange after market opens in Tokyo, Japan October 2, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global stock indexes were mostly lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling with shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and the U.S. dollar advanced after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobless claims data.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly to 216,000 in the week ended Sept. 2 from a revised 229,000 the week before. The latest week’s numbers were the lowest since February.

A separate report showed U.S. worker productivity in the second quarter was not as strong as initially announced.

Recent data has underscored the view that the U.S. economy remains resilient and that U.S. interest rates may need to stay higher for longer.

China’s onshore yuan slid to a 16-year low versus the dollar, weighed down by a property slump, weak consumer spending and shrinking credit growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

China trade data released on Thursday, while not as dire as economists predicted, still showed a nearly 9% slide in exports and a more than 7% drop for imports.

In Japan, traders remained on intervention watch as the Japanese yen struggled to make sustained headway against a resilient dollar.

The greenback hit a fresh top of 147.875 yen earlier, its highest since November, and was last down 0.4% at 147.20.

Against a basket of currencies including the euro and sterling, the dollar rose 0.1% to 105.05, after earlier touching a six-month peak.

“The fundamental story in the U.S. is still a bit stronger than the rest of the world. That continues to be a huge catalyst for dollar strength,” said Brad Bechtel, global head of foreign exchange at Jefferies in New York.

Shares of Apple were down 2.9% after sources familiar with the matter said China has in recent weeks widened existing curbs on the use of iPhones by state employees.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.54 points, or 0.17%, to 34,500.73, the S&P 500 lost 14.34 points, or 0.32%, to 4,451.14 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 123.64 points, or 0.89%, to 13,748.83.

European stocks ended down for a seventh straight session, while the MSCI global index was down for a third day in a row.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended down 0.1% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.35%.

U.S. Treasury yields eased following the U.S. economic data.

The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.25%.

Investors also digested comments late in the day from Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams, who said that it’s an “open question” whether monetary policy is restrictive enough to bring the economy back into balance.

In the energy market, Brent crude oil fell below $90 a barrel in volatile trade after a near two-week rally, amid signals of weaker demand.

Brent crude futures settled 68 cents, or 0.8%, lower at $89.92 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures finished down 67 cents, or 0.8%, at $86.67.

(C) Reuters.

Investing.com — U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors continued to worry about the possibility of interest rates remaining higher for longer.

Here are some of the biggest U.S. stock movers today:

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock fell 3.3% after a WSJ report that said China is expanding its ban on iPhones to state-owned firms and government agencies, potentially hitting future demand in this important market.

GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock fell 0.6% after the troubled video games retailer exceeded estimates for quarterly revenue and posted a smaller-than-expected loss.

ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT) stock slumped over 13% after the owner of EV charging stations missed revenue expectations in its quarterly earnings report.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI) stock fell 11% after the artificial intelligence start-up said its path to profitability will be delayed, fueling concern over its ability to take advantage of a surge in excitement over AI.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) stock rose 0.9% after Wells Fargo upgraded the fast food giant to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’, saying the company is “firing on all cylinders.”

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock fell 2% after Barclays downgraded the tech company to ‘underweight’ from ‘equal weight’, saying its AI presence will not be enough to ward off the macro troubles.

Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) stock fell 0.8% after B. Riley downgraded the iconic shoe retailer to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’, citing concerns about excess footwear inventory in stores.

(C) Reuters.

Investing.com — U.S. stocks were mixed, with declines led by tech stocks, as investors continued to worry about elevated oil prices and rising interest rates.

At 11:37 (15:37 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 66 points or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and the NASDAQ Compositewas down 1%.

The major Wall Street indices closed lower on Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ending almost 200 points, or 0.6%, lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1% and the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.7%.

Fed hike expectations rise

Sentiment has been hit this week by concerns the recent stronger-than-expected economic data and rising oil prices will prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer.

Data released Wednesday showed that the U.S. services sector – which makes up more than two-thirds of the American economy – unexpectedly accelerated in August, hitting a six-month high. Input costs paid by these businesses also rose.

At the same time crude prices have risen to their highest level this year, stoking concerns about the cost of energy and its effect on inflation, again having an impact on inflation going forward.

This has resulted in bond yields climbing, with investors factoring in a greater chance of the Fed raising interest rates once more by the end of the year.

According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, the probability that America’s central bank will choose to raise rates at its November meeting now stands at 43.6%, up from 39.3% in the prior day.

Jobless claims data due

New jobless claims came in lower than expected at 216,000 last week. They had been expected to rise to 235,000 from 228,000 the prior week.

The Fed has been closely watching the labor market for signs that the tight conditions are easing, something it wants to see to prove its inflation fighting efforts are working.

There are also a number of Federal Reserve officials due to speak later Thursday at a fintech conference hosted by the Philly Fed, and their comments are bound to be studied for monetary policy clues ahead of entering the blackout period that precedes each policy meeting.

GameStop post smaller-than-expected quarterly loss

In corporate news, GameStop (NYSE:GME) exceeded estimates for quarterly revenue and posted a smaller-than-expected loss. But shares were down 1.2%.

ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT) stock slumped more than 16% after the owner of EV charging stations missed revenue expectations.

Crude weakens on weak Chinese trade data

Oil prices fell Thursday, edging back from 10-month peaks after the release of weak Chinese trade data overshadowed another draw in U.S. inventories, signaling tightening supplies.

Data released late Wednesday by the industry body American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude inventories fell for a fourth straight week, dropping 5.5 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 1.

The reading usually acts as a precursor to inventory data from the Energy Information Administration, which is due later in the day.

(Peter Nurse and Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)

(C) Reuters.

Investing.com — U.S. stocks were mixed, with declines led by tech stocks, as investors continued to worry about interest rates remaining higher for longer.

At 16:01 (20:01 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 58 points or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.9%. Nasdaq is down for the fourth-straight day.

The major Wall Street indices closed lower on Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ending almost 200 points, or 0.6%, lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1% and the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.7%.

Fed hike expectations rise

Sentiment has been hit this week by concerns the recent stronger-than-expected economic data and rising oil prices will prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer.

New jobless claims came in lower than expected at 216,000 last week. They had been expected to rise to 235,000 from 228,000 the prior week.

The Fed has been closely watching the labor market for signs that the tight conditions are easing, something it wants to see to prove its inflation fighting efforts are working.

There are also a number of Federal Reserve officials due to speak on Thursday at a fintech conference hosted by the Philly Fed, and their comments are bound to be studied for monetary policy clues ahead of entering the blackout period that precedes each policy meeting.

Data released Wednesday showed that the U.S. services sector – which makes up more than two-thirds of the American economy – unexpectedly accelerated in August, hitting a six-month high. Input costs paid by these businesses also rose.

At the same time crude prices have risen to their highest level this year, stoking concerns about the cost of energy and its effect on inflation, again having an impact on inflation going forward.

According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, the probability that America’s central bank will choose to raise rates at its November meeting now stands at 43.6%, up from 39.3% in the prior day.

Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) under pressure

Apple shares lost 2.8% after reports officials in China banned iPhone use at work for government officials.

Videogame retailer GameStop (NYSE:GME) exceeded estimates for quarterly revenue and posted a smaller-than-expected loss. Shares rose 0.6%

ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT) stock slumped more than 10% after the owner of EV charging stations missed revenue expectations.

Crude weakens on weak Chinese trade data

Oil prices fell Thursday, edging back from 10-month peaks after the release of weak Chinese trade data overshadowed another draw in U.S. inventories, signaling tightening supplies.

Data released late Wednesday by the industry body American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude inventories fell for a fourth straight week, dropping 5.5 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 1.

The reading usually acts as a precursor to inventory data from the Energy Information Administration, which is due later in the day.