Red Across Wall Street 🔻 Earnings, Oil & Geopolitics Rattle Markets

U.S. stocks fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, retreating further from record highs as investors digested earnings and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. 

The S&P 500 declined 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 115 points (0.2%), and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8%. 

Financials weighed on the market, with Wells Fargo tumbling more than 4% after missing revenue expectations and Bank of America also falling about 4%. 

Stocks declined despite solid producer price and retail sales data, while rising geopolitical tensions pushed oil prices up roughly 1% after a 2% gain the prior day, adding to cautious sentiment following Tuesday’s nearly 400-point Dow sell-off.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Gelteq Ltd (GELS) is up 33.24% today to trade at the current level of $1.11 after announing positive results from a recently completed preclinical study which evaluated medicinal cannabinoids delivery through the Company’s proprietary oral gel platform.

ALT5 Sigma Corp (ALTS) zoomed 24.02% in today’s trade to $2.24 after announcing that it has regained compliance with Nasdaq’s periodic filing requirements after receiving a notification letter from Nasdaq.

In current trading, Autozi Internet Technology (Global) Ltd (AZI) stock is at $3.83 after announcing that it has regained full Nasdaq listing compliance.

Jet.AI Inc (JTAI) rose 22.45% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.49 after announcing that the parties have extended the outside date of the merger agreement between flyExclusive, Inc. (FLYX)and Jet.AI to April 30th, 2026, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2026.

In the current trading session, KULR Technology Group Inc (KULR) jumped 17.26% to $4.05 over a previous close of $3.45 after announcing that it was awarded a five‑year preferred battery supply agreement from Caban Energy.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Horizon Technology Finance Corp (HRZN) is about to trade ex-dividend Friday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Friday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.11 per share. It has fixed February 17 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 13. 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 19.90% on the current stock price of $6.63.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends Friday is Immersion Corp (IMMR), having a market capitalization of $214.30M. It will pay a dividend of $0.07 per share, the payment date of which is January 30. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.04%.

Shares of McGrath Rentcorp (MGRC) will be the talk of the stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.48 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.93 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MGRC has a trailing yield of 1.77% on the current share price of $109.04.

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc (MOFG) is also set to go ex-dividend Friday. The next dividend payment from MOFG will amount to $0.24 per share. January 16 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 30. In the previous year, MOFG distributed a total of $0.97 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for MOFG stands at 2.39% based on the current stock price of $40.52.

Oxford Lane Capital Corp (OXLC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.4 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of March 17. Over the past 12 months, OXLC has paid out a total of $5.25 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, OXLC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 35.52% on the current share price of $14.78.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Bitnomial launched monthly futures contracts linked to Aptos (APT), expanding access to regulated APT derivatives in the US market.

• Mantra is restructuring its operations following a challenging year marked by a major token price collapse and sustained market pressure.

• Crossmint received MiCA authorization from Spain’s CNMV, enabling it to operate as a regulated crypto asset service provider across all 27 EU countries.

• Bitcoin ETF flows have turned volatile in early 2026, with billions moving into traditional ETFs while crypto-focused funds trail behind.

• Backpack, founded by former Alameda Research and FTX employees, is entering prediction markets with a plan to unify balances across multiple trading products.

Most Shorted Stocks

Paranovus Entertainment Technology Ltd (PAVS) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 262.29% 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 0.0. This represents a change of -8131330 shares, which corresponds to a -98.04% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $0.34 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.51M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.67M.

The American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc with the symbol AXL currently has a short interest of 24.99%. The short interest has changed by -61907 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 12.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $222.48 million. On an average day, 2.98M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $924.56M.

For the stock Arbor Realty Trust Inc (ABR), the current short interest is at 25.04%. This represents a significant short interest change of 992847 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 2.15%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 11.9. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $366.34 million.

With the symbol ENPH, the stock currently has a short interest of 25.05%. The short interest change is 760593 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 2.45%. It would take approximately 7.0 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $1.75 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 6.96M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $4.86B.

The stock EVGO has a current short interest of 25.57%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -0.07% while there was a change of -23018 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 10.1. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $94.02 million. Trading activity averages at 3.53M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $913.17M.

AI Stock to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, NICE Ltd ADR (NICE) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 58. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Okta Inc (OKTA) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 58. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth, stock sentiment, and a forecast. The financial strength is neutral.

Another stock in the category, Camtek Ltd (CAMT) has the ST Score of 60, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Growth, stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

UiPath Inc (PATH) stock has the ST Score of 59, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses lie in its growth. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment and forecast.

Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) currently has the ST Score of 58, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's growth, 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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