Dear Readers,

U.S. stock markets saw a rise on Wednesday as positive economic data suggested a decrease in inflation. The recent data showed a decline in labor costs, indicating a favorable outlook on inflation, while increased productivity hinted at the economy's potential to avoid a recession. Additionally, ADP's private payroll data indicated a gradual improvement in the job market, an area of concern for the Federal Reserve.

This turnaround in Wednesday's gains contrasted with consecutive losses experienced by the Dow and S&P 500. These declines prompted questions about whether the late 2023 market surge was pausing or if the market had surged too rapidly.

Despite this, the Nasdaq Composite managed to finish higher on Tuesday and extended gains on Wednesday. Tech stocks, spearheading the November rally, continued to rise as Treasury yields retreated.

Cloud company Box faced a nearly 9% drop following third-quarter results below analyst predictions. Conversely, homebuilder stock Toll Brothers surged over 3%, surpassing expectations both in revenue and profit.

As of 11:57 AM ET, the Dow was up 21.6797 points, or 0.06%, at $36146.24. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2432 points, or 0.0015%, at $15877.952. The S&P 500 rose 1.75 points, or 0.0383%, at $4568.93. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Energy leading the way with a -1.67% decrease. 

Top Movers: Under $10

Sera Prognostics Inc (SERA) is up 271.25% today to trade at the current level of $7.80. This comes after the company declared that the DSMB for its PRIME study recommended halting enrollment due to efficacy, citing meeting statistical significance criteria for either co-primary endpoint at the pre-planned interim analysis.

MicroAlgo Inc (MLGO) zoomed 127.68% in today’s trade to $5.51 after announcing plans to establish a postgraduate training facility.

In current trading, Lion Group Holding Ltd ADR (LGHL) stock is at $1.10 following the release of its unaudited financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

ZyVersa Therapeutics Inc (ZVSA) fell -3.23% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.10 after revealing research supporting IC 100's strategy to target ASC for inhibiting multiple inflammasome pathways in diabetes-induced atherosclerosis.

In the current trading session, Webuy Global Ltd (WBUY) jumped 26.73% to $7.54 over a previous close of $5.95 following news of a non-binding MOU for acquiring a controlling interest in leading fruit importer and wholesaler PT. Tiga Sakti Utama in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Walmart Inc (WMT) 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 $0.57 per share. The company has fixed December 08 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 02. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.28 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, WMT has a trailing yield of 1.48% on the current stock price of $154.00.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Union Pacific Corp. (UNP), having a market capitalization of $142.14B. It will pay a dividend of $1.3 per share, the payment date of which is December 28. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.25%.

Shares of Regions Financial Corp. (RF) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.24 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.87 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that RF has a trailing yield of 5.01% on the current share price of $17.42.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from OXY will amount to $0.18 per share. December 08 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 16. In the previous year, OXY distributed a total of $0.68 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for OXY stands at 1.21% based on the current stock price of $56.60.

Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) will be paying out a dividend of $0.22 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 08. Over the past 12 months, NDAQ has paid out a total of $0.86 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NDAQ boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.53% on the current share price of $56.03.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Big Lots Inc (BIG) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 29.13% 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 4.8. This represents a change of -360000 shares, which corresponds to a -4.35% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $44.43 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.60M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $163.76M.

The Enovix Corporation with the symbol ENVX currently has a short interest of 28.86%. The short interest has changed by -830000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 8.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $453.41 million. On an average day, 4.60M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.95B.

For the stock Canada Goose Holdings Inc (GOOS), the current short interest is at 28.84%. This represents a significant short interest change of -840000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -5.50%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 11.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $165.97 million.

With the symbol LCID, the stock currently has a short interest of 28.81%. The short interest change is 11070000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +4.62%. It would take approximately 9.3 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $1.05 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 27.40M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $9.59B.

The stock STEM has a current short interest of 28.66%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +4.74% while there was a change of 1880000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 10.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $830.18 million. Trading activity averages at 4.29M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $516.03M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 67.0. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its value are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Sprinklr Inc (CXM) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 65.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak value. The growth, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, NICE Ltd ADR (NICE) has the ST Score of 64.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score but weak in growth. Value, financial strength, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Arista Networks Inc (ANET) stock has the ST Score of 64.0 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, and stock sentiment, but its weaknesses are in its value. However, it shows neutral outlook in Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Accenture plc (ACN) currently has the ST Score of 61.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its value. The stock's growth, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.