Dear Readers,

On Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed, driven by gains in the tech sector, as investors sought to bounce back from a challenging week. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average faced pressure, primarily due to a decline in Boeing's performance.

Last week marked Wall Street's first loss in ten weeks, driven by the underperformance of mega-cap tech stocks like Apple and an increase in Treasury yields. The Dow Jones dropped by 1.5%, the S&P 500 slid by 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite experienced its most significant weekly decline since September, falling by 3.25%.

This week, investors anticipate gaining clearer insights into the Federal Reserve's approach to interest rate adjustments. The release of the December consumer price index on Thursday and the producer price index on Friday will offer indications of whether the Fed's efforts to stabilize inflation at around 2% are effective.

As of 11:54 AM ET, the Dow was down -74.8984 points, or -0.1999%, at $37391.21. The Nasdaq Composite added 198.8135 points, or 1.2193%, at $16504.793. The S&P 500 rose 27.0996 points, or 0.5769%, at $4724.34. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 9 showed positive movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a 1.34% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Aclarion Inc (ACON) is up 26.80% today to trade at the current level of $3.88. This comes after the company announced that it has executed a strategic partnership agreement solidifying the previously signed non-binding Letter of Intent with Alphatec Spine, Inc., the wholly owned operating subsidiary of Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (ATEC).

Cellectar Biosciences Inc (CLRB) zoomed 28.04% in today’s trade to $3.47 following the release of positive topline data achieving primary endpoint in pivotal clinical study of Iopofosine I 131 in Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia.

In current trading, Butterfly Network Inc (BFLY) stock is at $1.19 after announcing the FDA clearance of its next-generation handheld point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) system, Butterfly iQ3.

Solid Biosciences Inc (SLDB) rose 15.82% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $6.41 after declaring $109 million private placement.

In the current trading session, Ardelyx Inc (ARDX) jumped 23.54% to $7.61 over a previous close of $6.16 as the company provided an update on the its progress in 2023 and initial expectations for 2024.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ) 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 $0.67 per share. It has fixed January 10 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 01. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.63 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, VZ has a trailing yield of 6.58% on the current stock price of $40.02.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is General Mills, Inc. (GIS), having a market capitalization of $36.77B. It will pay a dividend of $0.59 per share, the payment date of which is February 01. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.64%.

Shares of Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.45 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.81 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that LNC has a trailing yield of 6.39% on the current share price of $28.35.

AT&T, Inc. (T) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from T will amount to $0.28 per share. January 10 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 01. In the previous year, T distributed a total of $1.11 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for T stands at 6.40% based on the current stock price of $17.39.

UDR Inc (UDR) will be paying out a dividend of $0.42 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 10. Over the past 12 months, UDR has paid out a total of $1.67 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, UDR boasts an impressive trailing yield of 4.37% on the current share price of $38.32.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Stem Inc (STEM) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 28.07% 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 9.1. This represents a change of -1990000 shares, which corresponds to a -4.66% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $143.6 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.38M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $549.55M.

The IonQ Inc with the symbol IONQ currently has a short interest of 28.27%. The short interest has changed by -2590000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 5.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $585.45 million. On an average day, 8.91M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.52B.

With the symbol LOVE, the stock currently has a short interest of 27.85%. The short interest change is -130000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -3.34%. It would take approximately 9.8 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $95.62 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 390.69K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $398.40M.

The stock ELVN has a current short interest of 27.33%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +1.34% while there was a change of 70000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 41.1. Trading activity averages at 121.51K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $538.61M.

Upcoming IPOs

Smith Douglas Homes Corp. (SDHC) is all set for its debut on the NYSE exchange on January 11. They are offering shares in the price range of $18.00 to $21.00. With a total of 7,692,308 shares available, the company aims to raise approximately $150.00M through this IPO.

J-Long Group Limited (JL) will be entering the market with its IPO on January 12, on the NASDAQ exchange. They are offering shares in the price range of $4.00 to $6.00. They plan to offer 1,400,000 shares, targeting a deal size of $7.00M.

Silynxcom Ltd. (SYNX) is also scheduled to make its debut on the NYSEAMERICAN exchange on January 12. They are offering shares in the price range of $4.00 to $6.00. The IPO includes 1,075,000 shares, aiming for a deal size of $5.38M.

Banyan Acquisition Corporation (BYN) is set to join the NYSE on January 20. The shares will be offered at a fixed price of $10.00 per share. They are offering 21,000,000 shares, with an estimated deal size of $210.00M.

HW Electro Co., Ltd. (ATI) is set to debut on the NASDAQ exchange on January 17, with an IPO price range of $$4.00 per share. Offering 3,750,000 shares, the company aims to raise approximately $15.00M.