Good Morning, Traders!…👋

Stock futures are on the rise Thursday, attempting to recover from sharp declines on Wednesday sparked by the Federal Reserve’s cautious outlook for 2025. While the Fed delivered the expected 25-basis-point rate cut at its December meeting, it signaled a more restrained approach to further rate cuts in the coming year, unsettling markets.

The Fed’s hawkish stance triggered steep drops across major U.S. indices, with the S&P 500 suffering its largest post-rate-cut decline since 2001.

Looking ahead, investors will closely monitor the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly jobless claims report for additional clues on the health of the economy. Meanwhile, Micron Technology is under pressure in premarket trading after issuing a disappointing outlook.

Happening Today

✓ 08:30 AM ET – Initial Jobless Claims

✓ 08:30 AM ET – GDP (QoQ) (Q3)

✓ 08:30 AM ET – Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (Dec)

✓ 10:00 AM ET – Existing Home Sales (Nov)

✓ 04:30 PM ET – Fed's Balance Sheet

PREMARKET SNAPSHOT 📈

Market futures are up, with the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ all showing solid gains.

SECTOR SNAPSHOT✨

Yesterday's markets experienced a broad sell-off, with significant declines across most sectors. Consumer discretionary and technology stocks faced notable pressure, while financials and industrials also posted substantial losses. Defensive sectors like consumer staples and health care saw declines, and real estate and energy stocks struggled as well. The widespread downturn highlights growing market concerns, impacting growth and defensive plays alike.

PreMarket Unusual Volume Stocks

📈 AppTech Payments Corp (APCX) has exhibited an extraordinary increase, with a trading volume of 52,816,524 shares. The stock is priced at 1.01, reflecting an impressive change of 165.09%, far exceeding its average volume of 284.43.

📈Abpro Holdings Inc (ABP) showed remarkable growth with a 104.55% increase in its stock price, now at 2.25. It traded 5,535,898 shares, significantly above its average volume of 36.19.

📈 Currenc Group Inc (CURR) leads the list with the highest percentage change of 210.50%, trading at 6.21. Its volume of 6,295,092 shares considerably outpaced its average of 74.46.

📈 XChange Tec. Inc. ADR (XHG) experienced a solid 126.79% price increase, closing at 1.71. With a trading volume of 8,439,566 shares, it significantly exceeded its average of 496.22.

📈 XCHG Ltd ADR (XCH) traded 2,097,651 shares, slightly above its average of 272.06. The stock price stands at 2.31, with a modest change of 7.44%.

Premarket Picks

AppTech Payments Corp. (APCX) saw a significant pre-market surge of 165.09%, with its price rising to $1.01. This jump follows the company’s announcement of a $5,000,000 common equity raise, along with changes in its board of directors, which generated strong investor interest.

Mesoblast Limited (MESO) experienced a 40.08% increase in its pre-market price, reaching $17.16. The surge comes after the company revealed it would be added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (Nasdaq: NBI) as part of the 2024 annual reconstitution, effective after the U.S. market opens on December 23, 2024.

KULR Technology Group, Inc. (KULR) saw its pre-market price rise by 33.17%, reaching $2.77. The company received official notice from the NYSE American LLC confirming it had regained compliance with all continued listing standards outlined in the NYSE American Company Guide, boosting investor confidence.

Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (SGMO) saw a 15.31% surge in pre-market price, reaching $2.71. The increase follows the announcement of a licensing agreement with Astellas Pharma Inc., which will allow Astellas to leverage Sangamo’s STAC-BBB AAV capsid technology, demonstrating promising results in blood-brain barrier penetration and neuronal transduction in nonhuman primates.

Below is a complete list of hot stocks in pre-market today:

Top Upgrades:

1. Graco Inc. (GGG)

Analyst Firm: Exane BNP Paribas
Upgrade: Neutral to Outperform
Price Target: $105
Yesterday's Close: $83.42

Exane BNP Paribas raised Graco's rating to Outperform from Neutral, setting a price target of $105.

Analysts have set a high price target of $105.00, a median target of $90.00, and a low target of $79.00 for Graco Inc. The average price target is $92.14. Graco Inc. is a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and marketing systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials.

2. Zoom Communications Inc. (ZM)

Analyst Firm: Jefferies
Upgrade: Neutral to Buy
Price Target: $100
Yesterday's Close: $82.05

Jefferies increased its rating on Zoom Communications to Buy from Neutral, raising the price target to $100, up from $85.

For Zoom Communications Inc., analysts have provided a high price target of $115.00, a median target of $90.00, and a low target of $70.00. The average price target is $91.76. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. offers a unified communications platform, providing services across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

3. Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT)

Analyst Firm: KeyBanc
Upgrade: Sector Weight to Overweight
Price Target: $115
Yesterday's Close: $93.36

KeyBanc analyst Eric Heath upgraded Fortinet to Overweight from Sector Weight, with a price target of $115.

Analysts have set a high price target of $115.00, a median target of $100.00, and a low target of $72.00 for Fortinet, Inc. The average price target is $98.88. Fortinet, Inc. specializes in providing cybersecurity solutions, with a focus on the convergence of networking and security across global markets.

Happy investing,

Maeve Grace
Editor In Chief
Premium Stock Alerts

Important: This newsletter does not provide investment advice. The stocks mentioned should not be taken as recommendations. Your investments are solely your decisions.

Disclosure: I hold no positions in any companies mentioned, either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.