⏰ Markets on Edge: Tech Earnings + Fed Loom as Stocks Hit Records

The S&P 500 reached a new milestone on Wednesday, briefly climbing to an intraday record of 7,002.28 and trading around 0.1% higher, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and major tech earnings.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. Semiconductor and AI-related stocks led gains, with Seagate surging over 17% after beating earnings expectations and Nvidia up more than 1% following reports that China approved purchases of its H200 AI chips.

The U.S. dollar rebounded slightly after falling over 1% Tuesday, bringing its one-year decline to more than 10%. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at 3.5%–3.75%, with futures pricing in two quarter-point cuts by the end of 2026.

Markets now turn to earnings from Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla on Wednesday, Apple on Thursday, while Starbucks shares jumped more than 3% after reporting its first traffic growth in two years.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Tian Ruixiang Holdings Ltd (TIRX) is up 113.40% today to trade at the current level of $0.68. This comes after the company announced that it has entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with its strategic investor, SwiftStart Inc.

ENvue Medical Inc (FEED) zoomed 132.30% in today’s trade to $2.44 after announcing the signing of a distribution agreement with U-Deliver to distribute ENvue’s recently launched over-the-counter reusable ENFit Syringes product line nationwide through non-acute care channels.

In current trading, Eva Live Inc (GOAI) stock is at $10.16 following the approval for listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Bio-Key International Inc (BKYI) rose 49.62% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.81 afte announcing a strategic partnership with Visualforma, a Portuguese technology integrator specializing in digital transformation and secure IT solutions.

In the current trading session, Palladyne AI Corp (PDYN) jumped 26.84% to $8.27 over a previous close of $6.52 after announcing that it has won an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract to help different autonomous systems work together as one coordinated team.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Fastenal Co (FAST) 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 $0.24 per share. It has fixed January 29 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 26. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.88 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, FAST has a trailing yield of 2.00% on the current stock price of $43.83.

Shares of Marsh (MMC) will be the talk of the stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.9 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $3.43 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MMC has a trailing yield of 1.92% on the current share price of $178.43.

Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from STZ will amount to $1.02 per share. January 29 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 12. In the previous year, STZ distributed a total of $4.07 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for STZ stands at 2.53% based on the current stock price of $161.01.

AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.12 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of January 30. Over the past 12 months, AGNC has paid out a total of $1.44 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AGNC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 11.85% on the current share price of $12.15.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Bitcoin mining stocks jumped after a US winter storm forced some miners to scale back operations, reducing block competition and boosting mining profitability.

• Bitget named Oliver Stauber as CEO of Bitget EU, tasking the former Bitpanda chief legal officer with leading MiCA expansion and establishing a new European headquarters in Vienna.

• WisdomTree expanded its tokenized fund lineup with Solana, highlighting the blockchain’s transaction speed as part of its regulated multi-chain strategy.

• Tether boosted its physical gold reserves to 130 metric tons, while Coinbase pushed futures trading amid weak Bitcoin performance and gold surpassing $5,300 per ounce.

• Banks raised concerns that yield-bearing stablecoins could drain deposits, though policy and finance experts say there is currently little evidence supporting that risk.

Most Shorted Stocks

Solaredge Technologies Inc (SEDG) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 18.99% 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 3.8. This represents a change of -389060 shares, which corresponds to a -3.34% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $403.65 million. The average daily volume stands at 3.49M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.14B.

The United States Antimony Corp with the symbol UAMY currently has a short interest of 17.24%. The short interest has changed by 440019 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 1.3. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $179.16 million. On an average day, 12.70M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.37B.

For the stock Nuvve Holding Corp (NVVE), the current short interest is at 29.92%. This represents a significant short interest change of 132751 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 92.93%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 0.0. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $0.58 million.

With the symbol RILY, the stock currently has a short interest of 27.34%. The short interest change is -403594 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -6.63%. It would take approximately 1.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $2.62 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.80M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $290.76M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 53. The stock's profitability, growth, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 56. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak financial strength. The growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) has the ST Score of 53, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, but weak in performance. Stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

Medtronic Plc (MDT) stock has the ST Score of 52, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its growth, and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment and forecast.

Accenture plc (ACN) currently has the ST Score of 52, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth, and financial strength. The stock's stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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