U.S. stocks were mostly down during mid-day trading on Monday in the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which added further pressure to an already delicate market grappling with inflation and rising interest rates.

The escalation of geopolitical tensions stemming from the conflict raised concerns about potential repercussions in the energy sector. While some experts anticipated a brief surge in crude oil prices, they also projected a relatively limited overall impact.

This heightened tension contributed to increased market volatility, which has been a source of concern for traders dealing with persistent inflation and higher interest rates. WTI crude oil futures witnessed a 3.5% increase, trading above $85 per barrel, while international Brent futures rose by 3.2% to $87.29.

Notably, major defense and oil companies experienced significant gains amid the conflict, with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Corp posting increases of 8.3% and 10.6%, respectively. Marathon Oil and Exxon Mobil also climbed, with gains of 4% and 3.3%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the bond market remained closed on Monday for Columbus Day, postponing any updates on interest rates to Tuesday.

At 12:19 PM ET, the Dow was up 29.543 points, or 0.0884%, at $33437.12. The Nasdaq Composite lost -39.6348 points, or -0.2647%, at $14933.606. The S&P 500 rose 0.25 points, or 0.0058%, at $4308.75. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed positive movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a 1.19% increase.

Top Movers: Under $5

Hub Cyber Security Ltd (HUBC) is up 82.75% today to trade at the current level of $0.43. This comes after news about annual general meeting of the Company's shareholders on November 3, 2023, at 09:00 a.m. Israel time.

AERWINS Technologies Inc (AWIN) zoomed 19.25% in today’s trade to $0.17. This rally can be attributed to news that is it is establishing a US subsidiary in Los Angeles, California to redesign its XTURISMO Ltd Edition prototype 1 hoverbike and seek certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In current trading, Phoenix Motor Inc (PEV) stock is at $1.51 following news that its EdisonFuture subsidiary has launched new Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) solutions for green hydrogen products and production.

Acurx Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACXP) rose 35.94% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.61. The stock has more than doubled since the announcement of successful completion and early discontinuation of the Ibezapolstat Phase 2b Trial for treatment of C. difficile infection.

In the current trading session, RVL Pharmaceuticals plc (RVLP) jumped 10.44% to $0.14 over a previous close of $0.13. There is no news to point for this activity.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Investcorp Credit Management BDC Inc. (ICMB) is about to trade ex-dividend on Wednesday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Wednesday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.15 per share. The company has fixed October 12 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 02. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.48 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ICMB has a trailing yield of 11.88% on the current stock price of $4.04.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Wednesday is Ingles Markets Inc. (IMKTA), having a market capitalization of $1.46B. It will pay a dividend of $0.17 per share, the payment date of which is October 19. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.84%.

Shares of Lufax Holding Ltd ADR (LU) will be the talk of stock market on Wednesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.03 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.04 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that LU has a trailing yield of 4.06% on the current share price of $1.07.

Tomorrow, Riverview Bancorp Inc. (RVSB) is also set to go ex-dividend on Wednesday. The next dividend payment from RVSB will amount to $0.06 per share. October 12 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 23. In the previous year, RVSB distributed a total of $0.24 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for RVSB stands at 4.20% based on the current stock price of $5.72.

First Of Long Island Corp. (FLIC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.21 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 11. Over the past 12 months, FLIC has paid out a total of $0.84 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, FLIC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 7.33% on the current share price of $11.45.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Bluebird bio Inc (BLUE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 27.15% 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 7.0. This represents a change of 3000000 shares, which corresponds to a +11.52% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $84.8 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.15M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $312.83M.

The Verve Therapeutics Inc with the symbol VERV currently has a short interest of 27.86%. The short interest has changed by 20000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 19.4. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $142.44 million. On an average day, 669.64K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $760.18M.

For the stock ImmunityBio Inc (IBRX), the current short interest is at 19.79%. This represents a significant short interest change of 9720000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +36.38%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 14.1. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $50.65 million.

The stock GOOS has a current short interest of 27.32%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +4.80% while there was a change of 610000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 16.4. Trading activity averages at 782.50K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.43B.

Upcoming IPOs

Primech Holdings Ltd is expected to IPO on the NASDAQ Capital Market on October 10, 2023. The company plans to offer 3,050,000 shares at a price range of $4.00 to $5.00 per share. The total offer amount is expected to be $17,537,500.

La Rosa Holdings Corp. is expected to IPO on the NASDAQ Capital Market on October 10, 2023. The company plans to offer 1,000,000 shares at a price of $5.00 per share. The total offer amount is expected to be $5,750,000.

Agape ATP Corp is expected to IPO on the NASDAQ Capital Market on October 11, 2023. The company plans to offer 1,650,000 shares at a price range of $4.00 to $5.00 per share. The total offer amount is expected to be $7,590,000.00.

Birkenstock Holding plc is expected to IPO on the NYSE on October 11, 2023. The company plans to offer 32,258,064 shares at a price range of $44.00 to $49.00 per share. The total offer amount is expected to be $1,817,741,877.