Good Morning, Traders!…👋

Stock futures fell Thursday after the major averages posted a second consecutive winning day.

On Wednesday, the major averages saw strong gains, rising more than 1% each, though they ended the day off their highs. At one point, the Dow was up more than 1,100 points.

All three major averages are still on track for weekly gains, with the Nasdaq up 2.6%, the S&P 500 up nearly 1.8%, and the Dow set to rise 1.2% for the period.

International Business Machines (IBM) dropped more than 7% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter but maintaining its full-year guidance. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines saw a 4% drop in its stock after announcing plans to cut its schedule in the second half of the year and retract its earnings guidance for 2025 and 2026.

Earnings Watch

Earnings land today from PepsiCo $PEP ( ▼ 1.43% )  , Merck $MRK ( ▲ 3.63% )  , and American Airlines $AAL ( ▲ 1.46% )  before open, plus Alphabet $GOOGL ( ▲ 1.68% )  and Intel $INTC ( ▼ 6.7% )  after close.

Analysts expect PepsiCo to hit $2.29 EPS with snack strength, Merck to post $2.12 EPS on drug sales, AAL at $0.29 EPS, Alphabet to deliver $2.01 EPS with AI ad gains, and Intel at $0.45 EPS.

Happening Today

✓ 08:30 AM ET – Initial Jobless Claims

✓ 08:30 AM ET – Durable Goods Orders (MoM) (Mar)

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

✓ 01:00 PM ET – 7-Year Note Auction

✓ 04:30 PM ET – Fed's Balance Sheet

✓ 05:00 PM ET – FOMC Member Kashkari Speaks

PREMARKET SNAPSHOT 📈

​Pre-market futures are slightly lower, with the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ all showing modest declines.​

SECTOR SNAPSHOT✨

Stocks rebounded strongly across all sectors yesterday, reversing recent losses with a broad rally. Financials and consumer discretionary led the gains, each rising over 3%, while tech and communication services also surged. Energy snapped its losing streak with a solid advance, and even defensive sectors like consumer staples and utilities saw notable strength. It was a green day across the board as investors piled back into equities.

PreMarket Unusual Volume Stocks

📈 Cantor Equity Partners, Inc. $CEP ( ▲ 27.02% ) is attracting strong early attention with a pre-market gain of over 19%. Volume has jumped to 309.63K shares, an enormous spike from its typical 75 daily average—an increase of more than 410,000%.

Wag! Group Co. $PET ( ▼ 14.75% ) is soaring in pre-market action, up more than 70%. Volume has exploded to 52.57M compared to its average of 360.20K, highlighting a dramatic surge in trading activity.

Linkage Global Inc $LGCB ( ▼ 0.51% ) is seeing a sharp pre-market rally of nearly 46%, with volume hitting 5.26M—far above its 52.40K daily average. The stock is drawing speculative interest on unusual activity.

Mustang Bio, Inc. $MBIO ( ▼ 1.61% ) is up over 20% pre-market. Traders have already exchanged 8.57M shares versus a typical 1.14M, suggesting rising enthusiasm or a potential catalyst in play.

Pony AI Inc. $PONY ( ▼ 7.4% ) is trading higher by more than 13% this morning. Volume has reached 128.39K shares, significantly exceeding its 22.87K average, pointing to strong early momentum.

Premarket Picks

Linkage Global Inc (LGCB) saw its shares surge by 43.09% in pre-market trading, reaching a price of $2.69. The significant boost follows a positive update from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, which confirmed that the company has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rules.

Nexa Resources S.A (NEXA) experienced a pre-market rise of 40.03%, with shares priced at $8.50. The surge comes after the company announced its decision to redeem all outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes due 2027, totaling $110.509 million, signaling a proactive step in its financial management.

Old Second Bancorporation Inc (OSBC) reported a pre-market increase of 22.25%, pushing its stock to $18.90. The uptick follows the release of the company’s first-quarter financial results, which revealed a net income of $19.8 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, reflecting solid performance for the period.

Cantor Equity Partners Inc (CEP) also saw notable movement, with its shares climbing 17.52% to $19.39 in pre-market activity. This increase comes on the heels of a definitive agreement to merge with Twenty One Capital, Inc., a newly formed entity, marking a strategic development in CEP’s growth trajectory.

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

Top Upgrades:

1. BlackLine, Inc. (BL)

Analyst Firm: Piper Sandler
Analyst: Brent Bracelin (71% Accuracy)
Rating: Upgraded from Underweight to Neutral
Price Target: $46 (revised down from $58)
Last Close: $44.90

BlackLine’s rating was lifted to Neutral by Piper Sandler despite a downward revision in the price target to $46. The upgrade suggests improved sentiment regarding the company’s financial automation platform. Meanwhile, the consensus among Wall Street analysts is more optimistic, projecting nearly 26% upside from current levels.

2. FirstEnergy Corp. (FE)

Analyst Firm: B of A Securities
Analyst: Julien Dumoulin-Smith (68% Accuracy)
Rating: Upgraded from Underperform to Neutral
Price Target: $45 (up from $42)
Last Close: $42.70

Utility giant FirstEnergy saw a modest upgrade from B of A, reflecting a more neutral stance after a period of underperformance. The $45 target price implies a short-term upside of just over 5%, though broader analyst sentiment remains cautious, forecasting under 1% average upside over the next 12 months.

3. Loma Negra Compania (LOMA)

Analyst Firm: B of A Securities
Analyst: Carlos Peyrelongue (57% Accuracy)
Rating: Upgraded from Neutral to Buy
Price Target: $14 (previously $11.50)
Last Close: $11.43

Loma Negra received a bullish outlook from B of A Securities, with Carlos Peyrelongue upgrading the stock to Buy and setting a revised price target of $14. The upgrade reflects growing confidence in the company’s operational momentum in the Latin American cement sector. Analysts across the board expect a potential upside of nearly 16% from current levels.

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.