AI Leaders & $10 Movers: Midday Market Highlights

Stocks rallied on Wednesday in response to slower inflation in May, causing yields to plummet ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision.

At 11:21 AM ET, the Dow was up 134.3 points, or 0.3466%, at $38881.73. The Nasdaq Composite added 272.86 points, or 1.42%, at $19483.0496. The S&P 500 rose 62.8701 points, or 1.1696%, at $5438.19. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed negative movement, with Utilities leading the way with a 2.06% decrease.

The consumer price index remained stable in May, falling short of the Dow Jones forecast for a 0.1% increase. Annually, inflation rose by 3.3%, below expectations and a decrease from the previous rate of 3.4%. Both monthly and yearly core CPI figures, which exclude the fluctuating costs of energy and food, were also below predictions. The 10-year Treasury yield fell below 4.3% as inflation worries subsided before the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

Later in the day, the Fed is expected to update its forecasts for rate cuts and inflation, followed by a press conference with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Top Movers: Under $10

DDC Enterprise Ltd. (DDC) is up 321.99% today to trade at the current level of $2.18. This comes after DDC, announced that it has acquired Omsom, the proud and loud Asian food brand that has quickly garnered a devoted following for its Cooking Sauces, Saucy Noodles, and bold cultural commentary.

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) zoomed 31.24% in today’s trade to $8.57. This rally can be attributed to news that Affimed reported first quarter 2024 financial results & business update.

In current trading, Direct Digital Holdings Inc (DRCT) stock is at $4.39 following news that Direct Digital Holdings, announced the appointment of BDO USA, P.C. as the Company's new independent registered public accounting firm, effective June 10, 2024.

In the current trading session, MediaCo Holding Inc (MDIA) jumped 22.31% to $1.94 over a previous close of $1.59. MediaCo Holding Inc has recently garnered significant investor interest after acquiring all network, content, digital, and commercial operations from Estrella Media.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp (BAH) is about to trade ex-dividend tomorrow, meaning that investors who buy the stock after tomorrow will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.51 per share. The company has fixed June 13 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on June 28. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.92 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, BAH has a trailing yield of 1.27% on the current stock price of $151.73.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE), having a market capitalization of $78.53B. It will pay a dividend of $0.45 per share, the payment date of which is December 31. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.25%.

Shares of Brookfield Corporation (BN) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.08 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.22 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that BN has a trailing yield of 0.52% on the current share price of $42.33.

Tomorrow, NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NXPI will amount to $1.01 per share. June 13 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for July 10. In the previous year, NXPI distributed a total of $4.06 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NXPI stands at 1.43% based on the current stock price of $283.16.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (TSM) will be paying out a dividend of $0.43 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of June 13. Over the past 12 months, TSM has paid out a total of $1.93 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, TSM boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.11% on the current share price of $174.60.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Bitcoin's price fell to $66,000 amid concerns over the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, marking its lowest point in three weeks. The overall cryptocurrency market saw significant declines, with a total market value dropping to $2.44 trillion due to lower liquidity and trading activity compared to traditional markets like gold and the NYSE.

• Zimbabwe is soliciting input from the crypto industry to develop regulatory policies, with comments due by June 26. This initiative aligns with global trends, as countries like South Africa and Nigeria also work on crypto regulation.

• The EU Innovation Hub's recent inaugural report emphasized the dual nature of cryptographic technologies, highlighting their use in both beneficial applications like cryptocurrencies and NFTs, and in malicious activities by bad actors.

• Riot Platforms criticized Bitfarms' adoption of a poison pill to prevent its acquisition, calling it detrimental to shareholders and highlighting governance issues. Riot also disclosed increasing its stake in Bitfarms to 13.1%, amid an ongoing dispute over a $950 million unsolicited offer rejected by Bitfarms.

• Decentralized finance platform UwU Lend lost $19.3 million worth of Ethereum in a sophisticated cryptocurrency heist, leading to a halt in its operations and an ongoing investigation. This incident is part of a series of major crypto thefts, including a $300 million Bitcoin heist from DMM Bitcoin, prompting UN experts to investigate numerous attacks by North Korean hackers.

Most Shorted Stocks

JE Cleantech Holdings Ltd (JCSE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 38.56% short interest. The days to cover ratio, a measure of how long it would take for all the short positions to be covered based on average trading volume, is 1.0 Days to Cover. This represents a change of 693300 shares, which corresponds to a +15,071.74% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $0.66 million. The average daily volume stands at 785.08K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $4.71M.

The Cutera Inc with the symbol CUTR currently has a short interest of 36.67%. The short interest has changed by -80000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 8.3 Days to Cover. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $14.37 million. On an average day, 883.09K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $39.04M.

For the stock Siyata Mobile Inc (SYTA), the current short interest is at 38.42%. This represents a significant short interest change of 179700 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +334.64%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 0.1 Days to Cover. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $0.32 million.

With the symbol IBRX, the stock currently has a short interest of 34.60%. The short interest change is 40000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +0.07%. It would take approximately 7.7 Days to Cover days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $1.31 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 7.04M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $3.89B.

The stock CRK has a current short interest of 35.67%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +2.69% while there was a change of 770000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 8.3 Days to Cover. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $649.66 million. Trading activity averages at 3.56M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $3.55B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 60.0. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment are strong. However, its growth is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Adobe Inc (ADBE) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 53.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak value. The performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Sprinklr Inc (CXM) has the ST Score of 54.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in valuation, and profitability. Performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

NICE Ltd ADR (NICE) stock has the ST Score of 58.0 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its growth. However, it shows neutral outlook in value, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (CRWD) currently has the ST Score of 56.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, growth, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its value. The stock's performance, financial strength, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team