Dear Readers,

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as interest rates rose, and Wall Street analyzed the latest fourth-quarter earnings. With anticipation for additional data on the American consumer's state, markets had been closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The 10-year Treasury note yield reached approximately 4.025% before retreating just below the significant 4% level, influenced by European central bank officials downplaying rate cut expectations. The 10-year yield rose around 5 basis points to 3.999%.

Major banks unveiled their quarterly earnings on Tuesday morning, with Goldman Sachs surpassing profit and revenue expectations, while Morgan Stanley exceeded revenue projections for the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs shares rose by 1.6%, whereas Morgan Stanley experienced a 4% decline.

As of now, around 30 S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter results, with 78% beating earnings expectations, according to FactSet. Investors are anxiously awaiting December retail sales data, set to be released on Wednesday, which could trigger concerns about a recession and economic growth if there's a slowdown in U.S. consumer spending.

At 11:56 AM ET, the Dow was down -190.832 points, or -0.5076%, at $37402.15. The Nasdaq Composite lost -7.123 points, or -0.0423%, at $16825.795. The S&P 500 declined -13.3203 points, or -0.2784%, at $4770.51. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed negative movement, with Energy leading the way with a -0.79% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

DatChat Inc (DATS) is up 58.71% today to trade at the current level of $3.33. This comes after the company announced the proposed spin-off of its Habytat platform business into a new standalone public company pursuant to a distribution

Altisource Asset Management Corp (AAMC) zoomed 41.39% in today’s trade to $5.02. The company repurchased preferred shares in global settlement with Luxor Capital.

In current trading, Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (ACRS) stock is at $1.16 following the announcement of leadership changes and that it is undertaking a strategic review of its business.

SEALSQ Corp (LAES) rose 31.42% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.97 after announcing the launch of SEALCOIN.AI with Google Cloud as a technology provider.

In the current trading session, PureCycle Technologies Inc (PCT) jumped 25.62% to $3.02 over a previous close of $2.40. The company announced an update on the status of activities at its flagship purification facility located in Ironton, Ohio.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN) 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 $0.11 per share. It has fixed January 18 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 14. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.32 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, HRZN has a trailing yield of 10.07% on the current stock price of $13.07.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is First United Corporation (FUNC), having a market capitalization of $147.85M. It will pay a dividend of $0.2 per share, the payment date of which is February 01. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.62%.

Shares of Compass Diversified Holdings (CODI) will be the talk of 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 $1.00 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that CODI has a trailing yield of 4.58% on the current share price of $21.84.

Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from CMC will amount to $0.16 per share. January 18 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 01. In the previous year, CMC distributed a total of $0.65 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for CMC stands at 1.30% based on the current stock price of $49.92.

Accenture plc (ACN) will be paying out a dividend of $1.29 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 18. Over the past 12 months, ACN has paid out a total of $4.91 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, ACN boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.38% on the current share price of $355.18.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

RiskOn International Inc (ROI) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 51.6% 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 1. The average daily volume stands at 6.59M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $0.50M.

The Novavax, Inc. with the symbol NVAX currently has a short interest of 41.42%. The short interest has changed by 3660000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 6.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $217.46 million. On an average day, 7.63M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $524.90M.

For the stock Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST), the current short interest is at 35.66%. This represents a significant short interest change of -350000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -1.14%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 3.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $939.93 million.

With the symbol BYND, the stock currently has a short interest of 40.09%. The short interest change is -1290000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -5.02%. It would take approximately 8.2 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $221.41 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 3.01M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $470.82M.

The stock CVNA has a current short interest of 18.87%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +7.69% while there was a change of 2690000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 4.3. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $1.03 billion. Trading activity averages at 8.62M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $4.81B.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Kandi Technologies Group Inc (KNDI) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 55.0. The stock's financial strength, and stock sentiment are strong. However, its profitability are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 55.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak performance, and growth. The value, financial strength, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) has the ST Score of 52.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, growth, financial strength, and stock sentiment but weak in value, performance, and forecast. Piotroski score suggest a neutral outlook.

NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI) stock has the ST Score of 51.0 which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its growth, and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in value, performance, and forecast.

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