Good Morning, Traders!…👋

U.S. stock futures were flat early Wednesday as investors largely shrugged off renewed trade risks, even after President Trump officially doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50%. The new duties, which took effect Wednesday morning, exempt only the United Kingdom and come amid escalating tensions with both China and the European Union.

Optimism for a U.S.-China trade resolution faded further after Trump described President Xi as “extremely hard to make a deal with,” underscoring the fragility of the Geneva tariff truce. Disputes over chip exports, rare earth minerals, Taiwan, and visas continue to strain diplomatic ties.

Despite the trade friction, Wall Street posted a second straight day of gains Tuesday, boosted by a stronger-than-expected JOLTS job openings report that reinforced hopes the economy can withstand policy headwinds.

The focus now turns to labor data, with the ADP employment report due Wednesday and the main event—the May nonfarm payrolls report—set for release on Friday.

Earnings Watch

Earnings hit today from Dollar Tree $DLTR, Sprinklr $CXM, and Thor Industries $THO before open, plus MongoDB $MDB and Five Below $FIVE after close.

Analysts expect DLTR to post $1.20 EPS with retail resilience, CXM to hit $0.09 EPS on SaaS growth, THO at $1.80 EPS, MDB to deliver $0.39 EPS with cloud demand, and FIVE at $0.62 EPS.

Happening Today

✓ 08:15 AM ET – ADP Nonfarm Employment Change (May)

✓ 08:30 AM ET – ADP Nonfarm Employment Change (May)

✓ 09:45 AM ET – S&P Global Services PMI (May)

✓ 10:00 AM ET - ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI and Prices (May)

✓ 10:30 AM ET - Crude Oil Inventories

✓ 02:00 PM ET – Beige Book

PREMARKET SNAPSHOT 📈

U.S. equity futures are slightly higher this morning, buoyed by optimism over potential U.S.-China trade negotiations and continued strength in technology stocks. Investors are encouraged by signs of easing trade tensions, as the White House indicated that a leader-to-leader conversation between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is imminent .

SECTOR SNAPSHOT✨

Tech stocks led the market higher with information technology rising 1.48%, supported by gains in energy, materials, and industrials. Consumer discretionary, health care, and financials also saw modest increases. However, communication services and real estate slipped, while consumer staples posted a slight decline. Overall, market sentiment remained constructive with strength in economically sensitive sectors.

PreMarket Unusual Volume Stocks

📈 Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology ($BHAT) is up 15.70% with 3.01M shares traded, marking a 16,243.96% spike in volume—highlighting strong speculative interest.

📈 Baosheng Media Group Holdings Limited ($BAOS) surged 141.35% on volume of 9.28M shares, up 5,255.38%—a massive move likely driven by a major catalyst or news.

📈 New Century Logistics (BVI) Limited ($NCEW) gained 5.51% with 1.15M shares traded, showing a 1,903.37% volume jump as activity picks up sharply.

📈 Rekor Systems, Inc. ($REKR) rose 6.94%, trading 235.22K shares—up 1,546.67% from average, suggesting growing investor focus.

📈 BloomZ Inc. ($BLMZ) ticked up 6.87% with 11.66M shares changing hands, a 1,096.54% volume increase—indicating renewed attention in the name.

Premarket Picks

VCI Global Limited (VCIG) saw a sharp pre-market surge of 37.54%, with its price reaching $4.25. The boost comes after the company released its financial guidance for FY2025, projecting 41% revenue growth, 30% profit growth, and announcing plans for a Q3 2025 IPO of its Capital Markets subsidiary.

Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (SGMT) jumped 48.48% in pre-market trading, hitting $5.39. The rally follows news of positive Phase 3 trial results for Denifanstat, a treatment for moderate-to-severe acne, from partner Ascletis.

Classover Holdings, Inc. (KIDZ) rose 8.46% pre-market to $5.99. The company announced the completion of an initial SOL purchase and a new agreement to sell up to $500 million of notes—a move aimed at boosting its SOL treasury strategy.

SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (SBET) gained 9.19% in pre-market hours, trading at $54.91. This uptick follows the announcement of a $425 million private placement led by Consensys Software Inc.— positioning SharpLink to become the largest publicly-traded ETH holder globally.

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

Top Upgrades:

1. Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM)

Analyst Firm: Goldman Sachs
Upgraded: Neutral to Buy
Price Target: $167
Yesterday's Close: $143.97

Goldman Sachs analyst Christine Cho raised her rating on Yum! Brands from Neutral to Buy, keeping the price target steady at $167. Yum! Brands, which operates and franchises popular fast food chains worldwide, has received a range of analyst stock price targets. Estimates place the stock’s high at $185.00, with a median of $160.00 and a low of $140.00. The average target stands at $160.43.

2. NovaGold Resources Inc. (NG)

Analyst Firm: RBC Capital
Upgraded: Sector Perform to Outperform
Price Target: $7
Yesterday's Close: $3.77

RBC Capital boosted its rating on NovaGold from Sector Perform to Outperform, raising the price target from $5 to $7. NovaGold Resources, focused on gold exploration and development in the U.S., has stock price targets ranging from a low of $4.31 to a high of $10.00. The median target is $5.00, with an average estimate of $6.44.

3. Dollar General Corporation (DG)

Analyst Firm: Oppenheimer
Upgraded: Perform to Outperform
Price Target: $130
Yesterday's Close: $112.57

Oppenheimer upgraded Dollar General from Perform to Outperform, assigning a new price target of $130. Dollar General, a leading discount retailer with a nationwide presence, shows a high analyst price target of $135.00. The median forecast is $112.00, the low is $80.00, and the average estimate comes in at $108.44.

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.