Dear Readers,

U.S. stocks took a downturn on Tuesday, reacting negatively to unexpectedly high wage data that reignited inflationary fears just before the Federal Reserve's upcoming rate decision.

McDonald's also experienced a drop in share prices following its disappointing earnings report.

The employment cost index, which measures wages and benefits, rose by 1.2% in the first quarter, surpassing the 1% forecast by Dow Jones economists, prompting a spike in Treasury yields.

Market sentiment is tempered with predictions of only a quarter percentage point rate cut through 2024, as sustained inflation and economic resilience suggest that the Federal Reserve might maintain higher rates longer than previously expected.

This week is packed with economic developments, including a crucial two-day meeting by the Federal Reserve starting Tuesday. The central bank is expected to hold rates steady, though Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments post-meeting could signal a more hawkish stance in light of recent inflation reports.

It’s also a pivotal week for corporate earnings, with giants like Amazon and Apple set to announce their results on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Furthermore, the week will conclude with the April jobs report, anticipated after Wednesday's disclosures on job openings and private sector employment growth.

As of 12:18 PM ET, the Dow was down -314.85 points, or -0.8202%, at $38071.25. The Nasdaq Composite lost -148.62 points, or -0.8358%, at $17634.0959. The S&P 500 declined -35.09 points, or -0.69%, at $5081.07. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 11 showed negative movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a 1.06% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Akili Inc (AKLI) is up 78.25% today to trade at the current level of $0.42. This comes after the company provided several corporate updates, including an amendment to its strategic distribution agreement with Shionogi & Co., Ltd., a leading global pharmaceutical company.

Global Mofy Metaverse Ltd (GMM) zoomed 57.93% in today’s trade to $1.47 after announcing a collaboration with Heartdub.

In current trading, Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc (CYCC) stock is at $1.95 following the company withdrew a proposed public offering.

Senti Biosciences Inc. (SNTI) rose 22.70% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.38. The company announced the publication of preclinical data demonstrating the ability of natural killer (NK) cells engineered with multi-input Gene Circuits to selectively target and eliminate leukemic cells, including both blasts and leukemic stem cells while sparing healthy stem cells.

In the current trading session, Dare Bioscience Inc (DARE) jumped 26.13% to $0.36 over a previous close of $0.28 after announcing that it has closed a royalty monetization transaction with XOMA (US) LLC.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI) 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 $0.3 per share. It has fixed May 02 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on May 09. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.10 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DHI has a trailing yield of 0.76% on the current stock price of $144.01.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Entergy Corp. (ETR), having a market capitalization of $22.90B. It will pay a dividend of $1.13 per share, the payment date of which is June 03. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 4.10%.

Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (FELE) will be the talk of the stock market on Wednesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.25 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.93 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that FELE has a trailing yield of 0.93% on the current share price of $99.12.

Tomorrow, Golub Capital BDC, Inc. (GBDC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from GBDC will amount to $0.39 per share. May 02 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for June 21. In the previous year, GBDC distributed a total of $1.45 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for GBDC stands at 8.32% based on the current stock price of $17.43.

Hess Midstream LP (HESM) will be paying out a dividend of $0.65 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of May 02. Over the past 12 months, HESM has paid out a total of $2.44 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, HESM boasts an impressive trailing yield of 7.05% on the current share price of $34.60.

Crypto Market Highlights

• BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) halts inflows for several consecutive days since launch, sparking concern in the Bitcoin community.

• Animoca Brands enters Bitcoin industry by backing Opal Foundation, a new Bitcoin ecosystem protocol.

• Hackers exploit smart contracts of defunct DeFi lending protocol Yield Protocol, draining funds.

• Hong Kong's new Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs hit $12 million in trading volume, struggling to match the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.

• Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs launched in Hong Kong, but face challenges matching the trading volumes of US spot Bitcoin ETFs.

• SBI Group to use XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain for supply chain solutions, marking Ripple's push for enterprise blockchain use cases in Japan.

Most Shorted Stocks

Vital Energy Inc. (VTLE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 39.76% 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 11.4. This represents a change of 540000 shares, which corresponds to a +6.82% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $454.81 million. The average daily volume stands at 732.85K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.97B.

The ARCA biopharma Inc with the symbol ABIO currently has a short interest of 39.55%. The short interest has changed by 5464300 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $19.92 million. On an average day, 1.43M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $51.04M.

With the symbol IMPP, the stock currently has a short interest of 38.87%. The short interest change is -100000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -2.67%. It would take approximately 6.5 days to cover all the short positions. The company boasts an average daily volume of 537.10K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $106.90M.

The stock BYND has a current short interest of 37.76%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +5.38% while there was a change of 1170000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.7. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $25.08 million. Trading activity averages at 3.49M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $444.35M.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Baidu Inc ADR (BIDU) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 53.0. The stock's valuation, profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth and financial strength are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Albemarle Corp. (ALB) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 50.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability. The value, performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Cenntro Inc (CENN) has the ST Score of 50.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, and financial strength but weak in profitability. Value, growth, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Kandi Technologies Group Inc (KNDI) stock has the ST Score of 53.0 which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its financial strength, but its weaknesses are in its profitability. However, it shows a neutral outlook in value, performance, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Beam Global (BEEM) currently has the ST Score of 50.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its growth, and financial strength, while its weak points are its value and profitability. The stock's performance, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.