Dear Readers,

On Monday, equity markets declined as a surge in Treasury yields indicated that the Federal Reserve might not reduce interest rates as previously thought. Additionally, disappointing earnings from McDonald’s contributed to the negative mood among investors.

Investors witnessed an increase in the 10-year Treasury note yield, rising over 13 basis points to 4.168%, after evaluating new robust economic data which implies that interest rates could remain high for a prolonged period. The previous week saw the benchmark yield at approximately 3.81%.

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman, confirmed on Sunday his statements from the policy meeting in January, hinting that a decrease in rates in March seems improbable. Following his comments, the market's anticipation for rate reductions has diminished, with the likelihood of a reduction in March dropping to 14.5%, as reported by CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

This market downturn follows a period where the three major stock indices had increased for 13 out of the last 14 weeks, bolstered by a January jobs report that surpassed expectations and strong financial results from companies like Microsoft and Meta Platforms.

As of 12:03 PM ET, the Dow was down -350.2031 points, or -0.906%, at $38304.22. The Nasdaq Composite lost -72.2246 points, or -0.4094%, at $17570.508. The S&P 500 declined -22.1797 points, or -0.4473%, at $4936.43. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 12 showed negative movement, with Consumer Cyclical leading the way with a 0.69% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Gorilla Technology Group Inc (GRRR) is up 101.86% today to trade at the current level of $1.12. This comes after the company reported financial results for the nine months ending September 30, 2023.

Chenghe Acquisition Co (CHEA) zoomed 53.85% in today’s trade to $8.20 following an approved merger plan.

In current trading, Adverum Biotechnologies Inc (ADVM) stock is at $1.87 after announcing $127.5 million private placement financing.

SEALSQ Corp (LAES) rose 19.13% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.74. SEALSQ Corp (LAES) and WISeKey, with artist Ylan Anoufa, unveil AnoufaBears Intelligent Secure Toy, codenamed WISeToy.

In the current trading session, Mira Pharmaceuticals Inc (MIRA) jumped 16.13% to $1.08 over a previous close of $0.93 after providing a corporate and operational update.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Firstenergy Corp. (FE) 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 $0.41 per share. The company has fixed February 07 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 01. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.57 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, FE has a trailing yield of 4.31% on the current stock price of $36.53.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Intel Corp. (INTC), having a market capitalization of $180.83B. It will pay a dividend of $0.12 per share, the payment date of which is March 01. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.22%.

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.12 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.57 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that LEVI has a trailing yield of 3.53% on the current share price of $16.18.

Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from SLB will amount to $0.28 per share. February 07 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for April 04. In the previous year, SLB distributed a total of $1.09 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for SLB stands at 2.24% based on the current stock price of $48.60.

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (MDC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.55 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 07. Over the past 12 months, MDC has paid out a total of $2.10 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, MDC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.35% on the current share price of $62.72.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Canada Goose Holdings Inc (GOOS) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 28.45% 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 8.8. This represents a change of 920000 shares, which corresponds to a +6.91% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $177.16 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.62M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.26B.

The Medical Properties Trust Inc with the symbol MPW currently has a short interest of 27.53%. The short interest has changed by 10690000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 8.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $540.84 million. On an average day, 21.14M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.96B.

For the stock Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI), the current short interest is at 27.93%. This represents a significant short interest change of -1010000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -0.58%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 13.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $897.51 million.

With the symbol HSCS, the stock currently has a short interest of 27.91%. The short interest change is 1884500 shares. It would take approximately 0.3 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $0.34 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 10.65M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.49M.

The stock SMR has a current short interest of 27.75%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +11.43% while there was a change of 1490000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.6. Trading activity averages at 2.12M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $241.86M.

Upcoming IPOs

American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (AHR) will be entering the market with its IPO on February 07, on the NYSE exchange. They are offering shares in the price range of $12.00 to $15.00. They plan to offer 56,000,000 shares, targeting a deal size of $756.00M.

The Fortegra Group, Inc. (TFG) is also scheduled to make its debut on the NYSE exchange on February 08. They are offering shares in the price range of $15.00 to $18.00. The IPO includes 18,000,000 shares, aiming for a deal size of $297.00M.

Kyverna Therapeutics, Inc. (KYTX) is set to join the NASDAQ on February 08. They are offering shares in the price range of $17.00 to $19.00. They are offering 11,120,000 shares, with an estimated deal size of $200.16M.

Amphitrite Digital Incorporated (ADMI) is all set for its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on February 08. The shares will be offered in the price range of $3.50 to $4.50 per share. With a total of 1,750,000 shares available, the company aims to raise approximately $7.00M through this IPO.

Trident Digital Tech Holdings Ltd (TDTH) is poised to make its market debut on the NASDAQ exchange on February 09. Priced from $8.00 to $10.00 per share, the IPO will offer a total of 1,875,000 shares, aiming to generate approximately $16.88M in funds.