On Friday, stocks made gains following a selloff that put an end to a four-day winning streak. Investors were closely examining earnings reports from major banks, hoping to gain fresh insights into the state of the U.S. economy.

The primary focus remains on the outlook for interest rates and the direction of bond yields, which have eased during the week, providing a boost to stocks. There's growing optimism that the Federal Reserve may not need to further raise interest rates.

Meanwhile, oil prices continued their upward trajectory on Friday. Concerns about the escalating conflict in the Middle East, a crucial region for crude supply, persist. Israel's potential ground invasion of Gaza following an unprecedented attack by Hamas over the weekend has heightened these concerns.

As of 11:38 AM ET, the Dow was up 47.2813 points, or 0.1406%, at $33678.42. The Nasdaq Composite lost -139.3457 points, or -0.9177%, at $15044.755. The S&P 500 declined -13.1001 points, or -0.3012%, at $4336.51. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a -1.28% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Sigma Additive Solutions, Inc. (SASI) is up 150.00% today to trade at the current level of $6.05 following the news of an acquisition agreement with NextTrip Holdings, Inc., and a definitive asset purchase agreement with Divergent Technologies, Inc.

SunOpta Inc. (STKL) zoomed 27.10% in today’s trade to $3.63 after announcing the sale of certain frozen fruit assets to Nature’s Touch, a company based in Quebec, Canada.

In current trading, FOXO Technologies Inc. (FOXO) stock is at $0.1945 following the declaration from the company that the USPTO has provided an Issue Notification for a key patent utilizing a machine learning model trained to determine a biochemical state and/or medical condition using DNA epigenetic data to enable the commercialization of epigenetic biomarkers.

Hecla Mining Company (HL) rose 14.49% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $4.19 after announcing its preliminary silver and gold production for the third quarter and first nine months of 2023.

In the current trading session, Vertex Energy, Inc. (VTNR) jumped 10.21% to $4.64 over a previous close of $4.21. The company provided an update to its financial and operational outlook for the third quarter of 2023.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (DCOM) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Monday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.25 per share. The company has fixed October 17 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 24. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.99 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DCOM has a trailing yield of 4.92% on the current stock price of $20.02.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG), having a market capitalization of $77.71 billion. It will pay a dividend of $0.83 per share, the payment date of which is October 31. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.28%.

Shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. (GWRS) will be the talk of stock market on Monday 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 $0.27 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that GWRS has a trailing yield of 2.75% on the current share price of $9.92.

Quaker Chemical Corporation (KWR) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from KWR will amount to $0.46 per share. October 17 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 31. In the previous year, KWR distributed a total of $1.19 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for KWR stands at 0.81% based on the current stock price of $147.14.

Source Capital, Inc. (SOR) 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 November 16. Over the past 12 months, SOR has paid out a total of $2.34 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, SOR boasts an impressive trailing yield of 6.02% on the current share price of $38.83.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NSTG) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 31.67% 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 9.6. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $23.84 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.43 million shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $77.01 million.

The Carvana Co. with the symbol CVNA currently has a short interest of 37.64%. The days to cover ratio stands at 1.9. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $1.34 billion. On an average day, 15.07 million shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $3.61 billion.

For the stock Encore Wire Corporation (WIRE), the current short interest is at 26.31%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 16.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $762.68 million.

The stock MVIS has a current short interest of 24.02%. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 20.5. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $98.79 million. Trading activity averages at 2.11 million shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $388.70 million.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (TNP) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 69.0. The stock's valuation, profitability, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Euronav NV (EURN) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 61.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The value, performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Dynagas LNG Partners LP (DLNG) has the ST Score of 60.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in valuation, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Profitability, performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP) stock has the ST Score of 61.0 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in value, performance, growth, and forecast.

VOC Energy Trust (VOC) currently has the ST Score of 55.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, and performance, while its weak points are its value. The stock's growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.