🔍 Why Stocks Are Rising Despite Rising War Risks

US stocks edged higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite each rising about 0.4% as markets weighed escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Fresh attacks linked to the Iran conflict pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude nearing $104 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate approaching $94, while supply disruptions drove US diesel prices above $5 per gallon.

Concerns over the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a key global shipping route—have added to economic uncertainty, complicating the outlook for central banks ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, where investors widely expect interest rates to remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, corporate attention focused on Nvidia’s GTC event, where CEO Jensen Huang highlighted major partnerships and projected up to $1 trillion in chip sales by 2027.

Top Movers: Under $10 

U Power Ltd (UCAR) is up 132.09% today to trade at the current level of $1.03. This comes after the company announced the completion of production of 30 battery-swapping electric heavy trucks for Thailand.

BioAffinity Technologies Inc (BIAF) zoomed 43.97% in today’s trade to $2.75 after releasing a new case study showing how CyPath® Lung, a noninvasive lung cancer test, helped diagnose a high-risk patient with multiple lung nodules.

In current trading, PSQ Holdings Inc (PSQH) stock is at $0.82 after announcing fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results.

Jet.AI Inc (JTAI) rose 12.51% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.11 after announcing that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program authorizing the Company to repurchase up to $5.0 million of its common stock.

In the current trading session, AEye Inc (LIDR) jumped 35.48% to $2.1 over a previous close of $1.55 after announcing that it is joining the NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

AAON Inc (AAON) 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 $0.1 per share. It has fixed March 18 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 30. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.40 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AAON has a trailing yield of 0.50% on the current stock price of $80.26.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Popular Inc (BPOP), having a market capitalization of $8.61B. It will pay a dividend of $0.75 per share, the payment date of which is April 01. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.19%.

Shares of Huntington Bancshares, Inc (HBAN) will be the talk of the stock market on Wednesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.15 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.62 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HBAN has a trailing yield of 4.03% on the current share price of $15.39.

Marketwise Inc (MKTW) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from MKTW will amount to $0.45 per share. March 18 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 31. In the previous year, MKTW distributed a total of $0.79 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for MKTW stands at 5.20% based on the current stock price of $15.14.

Golden Entertainment Inc (GDEN) will be paying out a dividend of $0.25 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of March 18. Over the past 12 months, GDEN has paid out a total of $1.00 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, GDEN boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.57% on the current share price of $27.99.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Mastercard plans to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8B, strengthening its push into stablecoin and blockchain-based payment infrastructure.

• Maestro launched Mezzamine, a Bitcoin credit market that connects institutional BTC holders with miners seeking capital backed by mining output.

• PayPal is expanding its PYUSD stablecoin to 68 additional countries, aiming to lower cross-border payment fees and offer rewards for holders.

• Five firms, including bank affiliates and a major conglomerate, are competing for Vietnam’s first crypto exchange licences as the government moves to limit offshore crypto trading.

• Crypto.com partnered with KG Inicis to enable crypto payments for foreign visitors in South Korea through one of the country’s largest payment gateway networks.

Most Shorted Stocks

Beam Therapeutics Inc (BEAM) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 22.27% 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 13.6. This represents a change of 1663131 shares, which corresponds to a 8.22% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $563.46 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.83M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.62B.

The TeraWulf Inc with the symbol WULF currently has a short interest of 32.27%. The short interest has changed by -3996028 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 2.3. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $1.7 billion. On an average day, 30.14M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $6.82B.

For the stock Avis Budget Group Inc (CAR), the current short interest is at 45.38%. This represents a significant short interest change of 3214 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 0.04%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 6.1. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $767.07 million.

With the symbol AVXL, the stock currently has a short interest of 24.69%. The short interest change is -166591 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -0.81%. It would take approximately 21.6 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $35.5 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.50M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $436.02M.

The stock RR has a current short interest of 28.24%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -0.56% while there was a change of -276556 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 4.0. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $47.86 million. Trading activity averages at 26.70M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $524.34M.

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EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, General Motors Company (GM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 52. The stock's profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its financial strength is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Aptiv PLC (APTV) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 51. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth and financial strength. The performance, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Kandi Technologies Group Inc (KNDI) has the ST Score of 50, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in financial strength and Piotroski Score but weak in profitability and growth. Performance, stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

Teck Resources Ltd (TECK) stock has the ST Score of 50, which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its performance. However, it shows a neutral outlook in growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Magna International Inc (MGA) currently has the ST Score of 53, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its profitability and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth and financial strength. The stock's performance, 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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