Dear Readers,

Stocks declined on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as yields continued to rise. The 10-year Treasury yield increased by nearly 6 basis points to 4.121%, following Tuesday's upward trend, triggered by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller's caution about a potentially slower-than-expected easing of monetary policy.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde expressed expectations for an ECB rate cut later in the year, emphasizing a data-dependent policy approach. Traders are currently factoring in a roughly 60% chance of the Federal Reserve initiating rate cuts in March, as reflected in CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Additionally, traders considered weaker-than-expected China GDP data released overnight. The focus shifted to fourth-quarter earnings, which are gaining momentum this week and pose a significant test for the market, influencing the setup for 2024. Charles Schwab shares declined by 6% despite reporting an earnings beat, due to a revenue miss.

Wednesday also features the release of the Federal Reserve's beige book, business inventories for November, and remarks from New York Federal Reserve Bank President and CEO John Williams.

As of 11:51 AM ET, the Dow was down -40.9023 points, or -0.1095%, at $37320.22. The Nasdaq Composite lost -152.582 points, or -0.9066%, at $16678.127. The S&P 500 declined -28.23 points, or -0.5923%, at $4737.75. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Consumer Defensive leading the way with a 0.43% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Airspan Networks Holdings Inc (MIMO) is up 341.23% today to trade at the current level of $0.34. This comes after the company announced its strategic entry into the Utilities market.

Bullfrog AI Holdings Inc (BFRG) zoomed 24.47% in today’s trade to $3.29. The company announced early results from its collaboration with the Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) that could revolutionize the understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

In current trading, Safety Shot Inc (SHOT) stock is at $2.13 following news that a federal court has refused to dismiss GBB Lab Inc.’s (GBB) ongoing lawsuit against FSD Pharma.

Rail Vision Ltd (RVSN) rose 15.68% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.94 after announcing that a leading US-based rail and leasing services company signed a supply contract with Rail Vision valued at up to $5,000,000 (USD) for the purchase of Rail Vision’s AI-based Switch Yard Systems.

In the current trading session, MAIA Biotechnology Inc (MAIA) jumped 15.77% to $1.42 over a previous close of $1.23 after releasing new interim data for its ongoing THIO-101 Phase 2 trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and outlined key clinical milestones for 2024.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) 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 $0.94 per share. The company has fixed January 19 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $3.83 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, PG has a trailing yield of 2.54% on the current stock price of $150.54.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO), having a market capitalization of $2.76B. It will pay a dividend of $0.26 per share, the payment date of which is February 02. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.57%.

Shares of Progressive Corp. (PGR) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.85 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $1.18 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that PGR has a trailing yield of 0.69% on the current share price of $170.79.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from WSM will amount to $0.9 per share. January 19 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 23. In the previous year, WSM distributed a total of $3.49 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for WSM stands at 1.71% based on the current stock price of $203.84.

Zoetis Inc (ZTS) will be paying out a dividend of $0.43 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 19. Over the past 12 months, ZTS has paid out a total of $1.50 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, ZTS boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.78% on the current share price of $192.46.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Trupanion Inc (TRUP) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 38.75% 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 16.5. This represents a change of -1190000 shares, which corresponds to a -8.93% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $329.45 million. The average daily volume stands at 753.41K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.13B.

The C3.ai Inc with the symbol AI currently has a short interest of 32.65%. The short interest has changed by 2820000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.4. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $946.8 million. On an average day, 8.92M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.90B.

With the symbol SAVA, the stock currently has a short interest of 35.04%. The short interest change is 1130000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 8.86%. It would take approximately 9.2 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $357.11 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.38M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.08B.

The stock NOVA has a current short interest of 34.65%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +2.28% while there was a change of 820000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.1. Trading activity averages at 5.91M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.25B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Accenture plc (ACN) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 64.0. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its value are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 62.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak value. The growth, financial strength, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW) has the ST Score of 62.0, 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 value, and financial strength. Growth, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) stock has the ST Score of 60.0 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its value, and growth. However, it shows neutral outlook in financial strength, and forecast.

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) currently has the ST Score of 60.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, growth, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its value, and financial strength. The stock's forecast indicate a neutral outlook.