Dear Readers,

On Monday, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experienced marginal declines as investors anticipated insights from the final Federal Reserve meeting of 2023, eagerly watching for indications of when interest rate reductions might commence.

The Federal Reserve is anticipated to uphold the fed funds rate within the range of 5.25% to 5.5%. During the upcoming press conference on Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell is likely to reaffirm his commitment to combatting inflation. Presently, the CME Group's FedWatch tool suggests a 45% probability of a 0.25 percentage point rate reduction by the Fed in March.

Despite achieving six consecutive weeks of gains, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are now poised for potential fluctuations. Investors are focused on upcoming crucial inflation data, set to influence market movements and factor into the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates. The November consumer price index is scheduled for release on Tuesday, followed by the producer price index on Wednesday.

As of 11:55 AM ET, the Dow was up 87.9805 points, or 0.2427%, at $36335.85. The Nasdaq Composite added 56.8418 points, or 0.3534%, at $16141.53. The S&P 500 rose 1.5698 points, or 0.0341%, at $4605.94. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Materials leading the way with a 0.5% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Pasithea Therapeutics Corp (KTTA) is up 105.23% today to trade at the current level of $0.62. This comes after the company announced positive preclinical results from two in vivo studies evaluating the anti-tumor efficacy of PAS-004 in NRAS mutation cancer xenograft models.

Inpixon (INPX) zoomed 47.12% in today’s trade to $0.10 after announcing that it has received shareholder approval of the proposals related to the previously announced merger agreement with XTI Aircraft Company.

In current trading, Marker Therapeutics Inc (MRKR) stock is at $4.25 after reporting a clinical update on the APOLLO study.

Morphosys AG ADR (MOR) rose 28.80% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $9.08. The company announced comprehensive results from the Phase 3 MANIFEST-2 study investigating pelabresib, an investigational BET inhibitor, in combination with the JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib in JAK inhibitor-naïve patients with myelofibrosis.

In the current trading session, Onconova Therapeutics Inc (ONTX) jumped 18.76% to $0.75 over a previous close of $0.63 after announcing preclinical data highlighting narazaciclib’s multi-kinase profile, broad anti-tumor activity and increased anti-tumor immunity, compared to palbociclib and other CDK4/6 inhibitors.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) 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 $2 per share. The company has fixed December 13 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 03. Last year, the company distributed a total of $7.74 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, LRCX has a trailing yield of 1.06% on the current stock price of $731.78.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is HP Inc (HPQ), having a market capitalization of $30.03B. It will pay a dividend of $0.28 per share, the payment date of which is January 03. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.62%.

Shares of FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.05 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $2.56 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that FSK has a trailing yield of 12.55% on the current share price of $20.40.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc (ASO) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from ASO will amount to $0.09 per share. December 13 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 10. In the previous year, ASO distributed a total of $0.36 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for ASO stands at 0.64% based on the current stock price of $56.07.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) will be paying out a dividend of $0.13 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 13. Over the past 12 months, HPE has paid out a total of $0.52 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, HPE boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.14% on the current share price of $16.47.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Eos Energy Enterprises Inc (EOSE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 30.37% 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 5.4. This represents a change of -630000 shares, which corresponds to a -1.52% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $50.88 million. The average daily volume stands at 5.83M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $196.78M.

The Enliven Therapeutics Inc with the symbol ELVN currently has a short interest of 26.92%. The short interest has changed by 50000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 59.3. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $57.63 million. On an average day, 94.65K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $454.96M.

For the stock Marpai Inc (MRAI), the current short interest is at 26.96%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1051100 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +363.83%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 0.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $2.92 million.

The stock TSVT has a current short interest of 26.17%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +8.84% while there was a change of 1000000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.6. Trading activity averages at 1.99M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $148.82M.

Upcoming IPOs

Inno Holdings Inc. (INHD) is all set for its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on December 12. The shares will be offered at a fixed price of $4.00 per share. With a total of 2,500,000 shares available, the company aims to raise approximately $10.00M through this IPO.

The RoyaLand Company Ltd. (RLND) will be entering the market with its IPO on December 13, on the NASDAQ exchange. They are offering shares in the price range of $5.00 to $6.00. They plan to offer 1,250,000 shares, targeting a deal size of $6.88M.

Trident Digital Tech Holdings Ltd (TDTH) is also scheduled to make its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on December 15. They are offering shares in the price range of $8.00 to $10.00. The IPO includes 1,875,000 shares, aiming for a deal size of $16.88M.

ZKH Group Limited (ZKH) is set to join the NYSE on December 15. They are offering shares in the price range of $15.50 to $17.50. They are offering 4,000,000 shares, with an estimated deal size of $66.00M.