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U.S. stock index futures on Friday pointed to a slightly higher open, after key inflation data came in-line with expectations. Market participants also digested takeaways from the first presidential debate held late last night. Here are some stocks to watch on Friday:
- Shares of Plug Power (PLUG) were among the most actively traded ahead of the opening bell, gaining more than 6%. The hydrogen fuel cells maker said it would get a federal tax credit at its Woodbine, Ga. facility. The company said it “intends to recognize the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Section 45V Credit for the Production of Clean Hydrogen (PTC) in its forthcoming quarterly financial reports.” Under the Act signed by U.S. President Biden, the PTC offers a production credit of up to $3/kg to clean hydrogen produced domestically.
- Apple (AAPL) stock was also among the most actively traded ahead of market open, adding almost 1%. Bloomberg News earlier reported that iPhone shipments in China jumped 40% in May, citing data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. The Asian nation remains a key point of focus for Apple’s (AAPL) investors, especially after iPhone shipments slumped 37% there in the first two months of this year. Also see: UK regulator extends timeline for probe on Apple, Google’s app store rules.
- Speaking of Google, class A (GOOGL) and class C (GOOG) shares of its parent Alphabet fell nearly 1% each in pre-market trading. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded its stock rating on the tech giant to Neutral from Buy, citing concerns over transition risk in a number of areas. The brokerage said that there was a likelihood of at least a “transitionally” negative impact on search ad revenue from artificial intelligence, along with some “nascent” evidence of market share loss to Microsoft’s (MSFT) Bing.
- Xerox (XRX) stock slipped more than 3% ahead of the opening bell, after Citi started coverage with a Sell rating and an $11 price target (representing a 10.6% downside to the last close). The brokerage said that the U.S. printer maker was undergoing major restructuring in the face of “flat-to-declining revenues” and its pivot to the specialized digital and information technology services market will require significant time and investments. “Post-pandemic, it remains difficult for investors to have confidence in Xerox’s (XRX) combination of continued restructuring and cost-cutting,” Citi added.