On Thursday, U.S. stocks experienced a decline as investors awaited the release of fresh consumer inflation data to gain deeper insights into the state of the economy. This downturn has put the major stock market indices on course to break their four-day winning streak.

Following the release of the new data, Treasury yields saw an increase. The yield on the 10-year Treasury moved up by approximately 5 basis points to reach 4.643%. This increase in yield brought it up from earlier lows recorded during the trading session. Similarly, the 2-year Treasury yield was trading at 5.07% after surging by more than 6 basis points.

The previous day, the major stock market indices had closed with slight gains, marking the fourth consecutive winning session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw an increase of 0.2%, the S&P 500 added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite, which is weighted towards technology stocks, climbed by 0.7%. It notably closed above its 50-day moving average for the first time since September.

As of 11:43 AM ET, the Dow was down -95.6719 points, or -0.283%, at $33709.2. The Nasdaq Composite added 50.2148 points, or 0.3295%, at $15291.331. The S&P 500 declined -4 points, or -0.0914%, at $4372.95. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed negative movement, with Consumer Defensive leading the way with a -1.55% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Opgen Inc (OPGN) is up 569.64% today to trade at the current level of $2.25, thanks to two key updates. They got a 750,000 euro payment for selling Unyvero A50 systems, and they've signed a deal for an investor to buy 1,000 shares at $1,000 each.

Jaguar Health Inc (JAGX) zoomed 71.07% in today’s trade to $0.41. The company will present and host one-on-one meetings with investors during the Lytham Partners Fall 2023 Investor Conference, taking place virtually on October 17, 2023, and on October 18, 2023 at the in-person BIO Investor Forum.

In current trading, LL Flooring Holdings Inc (LL) stock is at $4.33 following the announcement of Live Ventures Incorporated's (Nasdaq: LIVE) $5.85 per share all-cash acquisition offer.

BSquare Corp (BSQR) rose 48.25% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.84. The company recently announced the execution of a definitive merger agreement with Kontron America, Incorporated by which Kontron will acquire Bsquare.

In the current trading session, Society Pass Inc (SOPA) jumped 42.36% to $0.38 over a previous close of $0.27 after announcing that it entered into a structured financing agreement for an equity line of credit with Strattners FZCO to efficiently access capital.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Franklin Universal Trust (FT) 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 $0.04 per share. The company has fixed October 16 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 31. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.51 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, FT has a trailing yield of 7.91% on the current stock price of $6.45.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is HarborOne Bancorp Inc. (HONE), having a market capitalization of $452.70M. It will pay a dividend of $0.08 per share, the payment date of which is October 30. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.02%.

Shares of Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.28 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $1.09 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HRL has a trailing yield of 3.29% on the current share price of $33.08.

Immersion Corp (IMMR) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from IMMR will amount to $0.03 per share. October 16 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 27. In the previous year, IMMR distributed a total of $0.12 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for IMMR stands at 1.78% based on the current stock price of $6.72.

Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR) will be paying out a dividend of $0.28 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 16. Over the past 12 months, SBR has paid out a total of $6.91 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, SBR boasts an impressive trailing yield of 10.69% on the current share price of $64.65.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 27.19% 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 7.9. This represents a change of 1240000 shares, which corresponds to a +0.74% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $763.25 million. The average daily volume stands at 21.43M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $17.29B.

The Nikola Corp with the symbol NKLA currently has a short interest of 25.03%. The short interest has changed by 3550000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 2.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $259.44 million. On an average day, 92.53M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.13B.

For the stock Bullfrog AI Holdings Inc (BFRG), the current short interest is at 28.12%. This represents a significant short interest change of 69800 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +22.95%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 0.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $1.2 million.

The stock VERV has a current short interest of 28.42%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +2.01% while there was a change of 240000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 18.2. Trading activity averages at 666.17K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $764.00M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc (CPRX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 61.0. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Immuron Limited ADR (IMRN) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 49.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, and financial strength. However, it has weak stock sentiment. The value, profitability, growth, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Talaris Therapeutics Inc (TALS) has the ST Score of 57.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, growth, financial strength, and stock sentiment but weak in Piotroski Score. Value, profitability, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Third Harmonic Bio Inc (THRD) stock has the ST Score of 51.0 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its financial strength, and stock sentiment. However, it shows neutral outlook in value, profitability, performance, growth, and forecast.

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