Dear Readers,

Friday saw a resurgence in the stock market, rebounding from the Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performance in over a year. Traders welcomed a robust jobs report, overshadowing concerns about rising rates. Following the release of a report indicating a substantial increase in March job growth, Treasury yields surged. The 303,000 jobs added surpassed expectations of 200,000, as per Dow Jones estimates.

Additionally, wages saw a 0.3% monthly increase and a 4.1% rise from a year earlier, aligning with forecasts. Investors find themselves conflicted: desiring a robust economy to drive corporate earnings while also hoping for a softer job market, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to consider interest rate cuts. Throughout the week, rising rates weighed on stocks, particularly impacting the Dow, which is on track for a 2% decline.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also experienced around a 1% dip. These movements follow a strong first quarter, prompting some to speculate whether a correction is looming after significant gains. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at approximately 4.38% on Friday, up from 4.19% a week earlier.

As of 12:01 PM ET, the Dow was up 375.79 points, or 0.9736%, at $38972.78. The Nasdaq Composite added 260.01 points, or 1.45%, at $18138.7943. The S&P 500 rose 66.54 points, or 1.2927%, at $5213.74. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 11 showed positive movement, with Communication Services leading the way with a 1.91% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

GCT Semiconductor Holding Inc. (GCTS) is up 49.39% today to trade at the current level of $8.56. This comes after the company signed an MOU with Aramco to accelerate the development of the 4G and 5G ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

Hub Cyber Security Ltd (HUBC) zoomed 36.55% in today’s trade to $1.42 after announcing a successful $8 million financing acquisition via a straight debt arrangement.

In current trading, Ocugen Inc (OCGN) stock is at $1.76 following an announcement from the company that the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the Phase 1/2 ArMaDa clinical trial for OCU410 recently convened and approved to proceed dosing with the medium dose of OCU410 in the dose-escalation phase of the study.

22nd Century Group Inc (XXII) rose 116.22% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.20. The company announced that it has signed a significant new contract manufacturing agreement for the production of branded conventional cigarette products.

In the current trading session, PlayAGS Inc (AGS) jumped 11.20% to $9.43 over a previous close of $8.48. The company steps into a new vertical as it unveils its first mechanical reel cabinet among a diverse lineup of new products at the 2024 Indian Gaming Association (“IGA”) trade show in Anaheim, CA.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Brady Corp. (BRC) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Monday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.23 per share. It has fixed April 09 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on April 30. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.93 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, BRC has a trailing yield of 1.56% on the current stock price of $59.60.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is Dollar General Corp. (DG), having a market capitalization of $35.09B. It will pay a dividend of $0.59 per share, the payment date of which is April 23. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.48%.

Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (MA) will be the talk of the stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.66 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $2.37 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MA has a trailing yield of 0.50% on the current share price of $477.75.

Tomorrow, Quanta Services, Inc. (PWR) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from PWR will amount to $0.09 per share. April 09 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for April 17. In the previous year, PWR distributed a total of $0.33 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PWR stands at 0.13% based on the current stock price of $261.52.

Sachem Capital Corp (SACH) will be paying out a dividend of $0.11 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of April 09. Over the past 12 months, SACH has paid out a total of $0.48 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, SACH boasts an impressive trailing yield of 13.28% on the current share price of $3.62.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Supreme Court of Montenegro annuls lower court decision on Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon's extradition.

• Bhutan's sovereign investment arm and Bitdeer Technologies to boost BTC mining capacity post Bitcoin halving.

• ZA Bank in Hong Kong to offer banking services tailored for stablecoin issuers, enhancing local Web3 adoption.

• South Korean financial authorities to tighten regulations on token listings on centralized crypto exchanges by late April or early May.

• Binance mandates Know Your Customer (KYC) for Exchange Link account holders under the Binance Link Program.

Most Shorted Stocks

Luminar Technologies Inc (LAZR) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 19.86% 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 11.1. This represents a change of -1820000 shares, which corresponds to a -2.13% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $165.9 million. The average daily volume stands at 7.86M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $835.05M.

The Carvana Co. with the symbol CVNA currently has a short interest of 14.58%. The short interest has changed by -4070000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $2.47 billion. On an average day, 6.57M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $9.75B.

With the symbol AI, the stock currently has a short interest of 25.83%. The short interest change is -2800000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -8.16%. It would take approximately 3.8 days to cover all the short positions. The company boasts an average daily volume of 7.78M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $3.04B.

The stock LCID has a current short interest of 29.73%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -0.96% while there was a change of -2440000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.1. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $82.29 million. Trading activity averages at 37.60M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $6.00B.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Teekay Tankers Ltd (TNK) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 66.0. The stock's valuation, profitability, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Imperial Petroleum Inc (IMPP) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 63.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of valuation, profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Teekay Corp (TK) has the ST Score of 67.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in valuation, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. Profitability, performance, growth, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

International Seaways Inc (INSW) stock has the ST Score of 62.0 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its valuation, profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment, but its weaknesses are in its growth. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Torm Plc (TRMD) currently has the ST Score of 62.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment. The stock's value, performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

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