DG Dollar General Corporation

Cvs Health (NYSE:CVS): Piper Sandler & Co maintains its overweight rating with a reduced target price of $82.

Dell (NYSE:DELL): Credit Suisse maintains its outperform rating with a target price raised from $62 to $74.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG): Citi maintains a neutral recommendation with a reduced target price of $146.

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL): Berenberg maintains its recommendation with a target price of $180.

Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM): Goldman Sachs maintains its neutral recommendation on the stock with a target price raised from $115 to $116.

Fair Isaac Corp (NYSE:FICO): Goldman Sachs maintains its Buy rating on the stock with a raised target price from $978 to $1029.

Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPE): Daiwa Securities maintains its outperform recommendation with a raised target price of $19.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC): Goldman Sachs maintains its buy recommendation with a target price raised from $153 to $163.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX): Goldman Sachs maintains its buy recommendation with a target price increased from $125 to $141.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO): Goldman Sachs downgrades to sell from neutral. PT up 13.3% to $128.

Vmware (NYSE:VMW): Mizuho Securities maintains a neutral recommendation with a target price raised from $158 to $165.

Don’t Trade Without Seeing The Orderbook

U.S. stock futures advanced on Friday following a challenging August on Wall Street, as investors awaited the release of critical nonfarm payroll data.

As of 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT), Dow futures rose by 115 points or 0.3%, S&P 500 futures increased by 13 points or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures edged up by 25 points or 0.2%.

All major indices on Wall Street experienced losses in August, particularly the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, both recording their first monthly decline since February. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 0.5%, the S&P 500 lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.1%.

These movements followed economic data revealing that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, rose as anticipated on an annual basis in July. On a month-on-month basis, the PCE figure remained stable, indicating a potential easing in price pressures. Additionally, household spending rates increased, suggesting ongoing resilience in the broader economy despite recent interest rate hikes.

Traders largely maintained their expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming policy meeting later this month. According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, there is now an 88% likelihood that the central bank will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.50%, slightly down from a 90% probability on Thursday.

Nonfarm Payrolls Awaited

The next significant event on the U.S. economic calendar is the publication of the August jobs report, scheduled for later in the day on Friday.

Economists forecast an increase of 170,000 in nonfarm payrolls for the month, following a gain of 187,000 in July. Additionally, growth in average hourly earnings is anticipated to slightly moderate to 0.3% month-on-month. The unemployment rate in the largest economy globally is also expected to remain unchanged at 3.5%.

Separate data earlier this week indicated a picture of a slowing yet tight U.S. job market. The Federal Reserve will likely monitor further indications of this cooling trend, without it posing a threat to economic activity.

Curbing labor demand and mitigating wage growth has been a significant aspect of the Fed’s long-standing campaign of rate hikes, with policymakers aiming to lower inflation closer to their 2% target. Despite speculation that the central bank might step back from this cycle, uncertainty remains regarding its actions after this month’s meeting.

The jobs report could offer insights into this matter.

Chinese Manufacturing Unexpectedly Expands in August – Caixin PMI

A private survey revealed that Chinese factory activity unexpectedly grew in August, buoyed by increased new orders.

The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached 51.0 for August, surpassing estimates of 49.3 and exceeding the previous month’s reading of 49.2. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, and the Caixin PMI reached its highest level since February. Improved local demand, coupled with monetary stimulus from the Chinese government, helped counter weakness in export-focused businesses.

However, the Caixin data contrasted with the official PMI, which registered 49.7 on Thursday, suggesting contraction.

Amid growing calls for stronger measures to revive the country’s post-pandemic recovery, Beijing introduced new steps to bolster the local currency and support China’s struggling real estate sector on Friday.

Lululemon Gains on Positive Q3 Outlook

Shares of Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) rose in premarket trading on Friday after the sportswear manufacturer reported a “solid start” to the third quarter due to robust demand in North America.

The stock initially saw fluctuations following the yogawear company’s second-quarter results. Sales in North America surged by 11%, though this uptick was offset by slowing quarter-on-quarter revenue growth in China.

Despite a recent dip in customer spending on nonessential items affecting many retailers, the Vancouver-based company indicated no change in consumer behavior. CEO Calvin McDonald mentioned during an earnings call that shoppers were responding positively to back-to-school and early fall product lines.

Lululemon subsequently raised its full-year revenue and profit guidance, contrasting with a more cautious outlook for the second half from other sports apparel manufacturers.

Oil Set to Break Two-Week Losing Streak

Oil prices were on track for weekly gains on Friday, driven by optimism surrounding the prospect of major crude producers extending output cuts until the end of the year.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated on Thursday that Moscow had reached a new agreement with its peers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies (OPEC+), outlining additional production reductions for the coming week.

These reductions would supplement the ongoing supply cuts by Russia and Saudi Arabia, possibly resulting in a tighter supply outlook for the remainder of the year.

By 05:31 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.8% higher at $84.30 per barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.7% to $87.47. Both contracts experienced more than 3% gains this week, breaking two-week losing streaks.

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