Dow gains 250, Apple jumps 6%, Ford climbs on upgrade

The major indexes couldn’t hold on to their session highs but still finished with solid gains for Monday’s session. The Dow rose 250 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.6%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.6%. Apple’s gain of 6.4% boosted all three indexes. — Jesse Pound

The major averages were headed for sharp gains on Monday, with tech stocks leading the gains. The Dow traded 300 points higher, or 1%. The S&P 500 jumped nearly 2% and the Nasdaq Composite popped more than 3% for its biggest one-day rally since April. —Fred Imbert

Oil prices slid on Monday after supply came back online in the U.S., Libya and Norway. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. oil benchmark, slid $1.17, or 2.88%, to settle at $39.43 per barrel. Earlier in the session it traded as low as $39.04 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude declined 2.64% to settle at $41.72 per barrel.

“Some US production that was shut due to hurricane-related outages has returned and an oil worker strike in Norway that was also keeping hundreds of thousands of barrels offline has now ended,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy. “Add to that Libyan production that has rebounded and you have a perfect cocktail of supply strings being pulled, in a market where demand has stalled,” he added.

WTI jumped 9.58% last week, snapping a two-week losing streak. — Pippa Stevens

Shares of Apple continued to stretch higher on Monday, gaining 6.8%. The stock would still need to jump another 10% to match its early September highs. — Jesse Pound

The Nasdaq Composite has gained about 3.1% on Monday, putting the index on track for its best session since April 29. If the Nasdaq holds steady until the close, this will be its 12th best day of the year. — Jesse Pound

Monday’s rally continued to charge upward, with the Dow surging to a 350 point gain. The S&P 500 climbed 1.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite led the way with a 2.9% rise. Big Tech helped to lift the market, with Apple and Amazon jumping 6% and 5.3%, respectively. — Jesse Pound

The biggest stock in the S&P 500 has also been one of the best performers in the index on Monday. Shares of Apple have gained 5.4% ahead of Tuesday’s product launch event. That makes it the third-best performer in the S&P 500 during the session, trailing only Ford and WestRock. — Jesse Pound

The major averages were sharply higher around midday as tech shares rose broadly. The Dow traded 230 points higher, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 advanced 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite popped 2.1%. —Fred Imbert

Apple has a big iPhone launch on Tuesday and if history is any guide, this could be an good entry point into the technology stock. Apple shares have outperformed the S&P 500 by an average of 13 percentage points in the six months following an iPhone launch event, according to data compiled by Morgan Stanley.

Apple’s long awaited iPhone launch — which was pushed to October due to Covid-19 — happens on Tuesday and Wall Street expects the event to be “the most significant iPhone event in years,” Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty told clients. Most notably, Apple is expected to release new iPhones with 5G cellular networks, which touts faster download times.

The historical data shows that Apple’s iPhone events are pretty reliable buying opportunity, especially with a brand new type of iPhone. — Maggie Fitzgerald

• Atlantic Equities downgraded Pfizer to neutral from overweight.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Levi to overweight from equal weight.
• Citi downgraded Cisco to neutral from buy.
• Goldman Sachs initiated Snowflake as buy.
• Benchmark upgraded Ford to buy from hold.
• Barclays downgraded United Airlines to neutral from overweight.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Twitter to buy from hold.
• Citi upgraded Pepsi to buy from neutral.
• JPMorgan downgraded Travelers to underweight from neutral.
• Credit Suisse initiated DraftKings as outperform.
• RBC raised its price target on Apple to $132 from $111.
• Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Alphabet to $2,020 from $1,975.

Pro subscribers can read more here. —Michael Bloom

The major averages rose at the open on Monday as stimulus talks continued and tech shares outperformed. The Dow traded 100 points higher, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 advanced 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite popped 1.3%. —Fred Imbert

Alphabet gained more than 1% in the premarket after a Deutsche Bank analyst hiked his price target on the search giant to $2,020 per share from $1,975 per share. That target implies a 34% upside from Friday’s close over the next 12 months. The analyst expects YouTube revenue to remain strong and Google Sites sales to accelerate to 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Additionally, the analyst views “the valuation as compelling relative to the broader market.” —Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

Insurance company Travelers slid 1.5% during premarket trading on Monday after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to underweight from neutral. The bearish call stems from “concerns about a subpar ROE [return on equity], a lackluster outlook for business trends, and potential downside risk to EPS estimates.” — Pippa Stevens

Citi upgraded shares of Pepsi to a buy rating based on consistent top-line growth and improving profit margins. “After nearly five years of relative underperformance, we think now is the time to buy PEP,” the firm said in a note to clients. Citi also lifted its price target on the stock from $148 to $169, which represents roughly 17% upside from where shares closed on Friday.

Pepsi was about 2% higher during premarket trading on Monday. — Pippa Stevens

Shares of Ford Motors ticked up nearly 1% in premarket trading on Monday after Benchmark upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The Wall Street firm also introduced a 12-month price target of $10 per share. “In our view, a new management team and better than expected third quarter earnings provide a near-term catalyst for Ford,” the Benchmark analysts told clients. “Momentum from new products and the need to replenish depleted inventories of full-sized pickup trucks should accelerate the momentum into 2021.” — Maggie Fitzgerald

Twilio jumped more than 6% during premarket trading on Monday after the company said it was buying customer data platform provider Segment for $3.2 billion in stock. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter.

“We can create more personalized, timely and impactful engagement across customer service, marketing, analytics, product and sales. We are thrilled to welcome Segment to the Twilio team,” Twilio co-founder and CEO Jeff Lawson said in a statement. — Pippa Stevens

Shares of major tech companies rose broadly to lead the early market gains on Wall Street. Facebook and Amazon advanced 1.9% and 2%, respectively. Netflix gained 1.9% and Alphabet advanced 1.8%. Apple, meanwhile, popped more than 3% in the premarket as investors looked ahead to a company event later in the week. There, Apple is expected to unveil its first 5G iPhone. —Fred Imbert

Shares of Levi Strauss popped more than 3% in premarket trading on Monday after Morgan Staley upgraded the denim company to overweight from equal-weight. The Wall Street firm raised its 12-month price target on the stock to $22 per share from $18 per share. “Impressive revenue acceleration and positive 3Q EPS highlight mgmt’s swift response to a pressured retail environment. We come away positive on accelerated margin expansion driven by channel & geographic mix shifts, cost cutting, and price/AUR increases,” the Morgan Stanley analysts told clients. The firm also raised its 2021 and 2022 earnings estimates for Levi. — Maggie Fitzgerald

An analyst at Deutsche Bank upgraded Twitter to buy from hold and hike his 12-month price to $56 per share from $36 per share, sending the social media stock up more than 4% in the premarket. The analyst’s new price target implies a 22% upside from Friday’s close of $45.90 per share.

“We are now starting to hear more positive feedback in the ad channel and would take advantage of the opportunity to build a position now before a stronger ad recovery takes hold and we get into the period of 2021 excitement,” analyst Lloyd Walmsley said in a note. —Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom