US stocks fell Wednesday as Treasury yields surged and investors monitored US diplomatic efforts with Iran and China. 

As of 11:08 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.31%, the S&P 500 fell 0.46%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.80% after reaching consecutive record highs. 

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 5%, its highest intraday level since 2007. President Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade, Iran, rare earths and AI.

Oil prices were little changed, with Brent below $100 and WTI under $91. Meanwhile, US business activity expanded faster than expected.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Beneficient (BENF) is up 277.11% today to trade at the current level of $2.03. This comes after the company announced a strategy to eliminate HCLP debt and Heppner Equity Interests.

Green Circle Decarbonize Technology Ltd (GCDT) zoomed 55.28% in today’s trade to $0.53 after announcing that it will effect a 1-for-6 share consolidation of its ordinary shares, including its class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share.

In current trading, Vistagen Therapeutics Inc (VTGN) stock is at $0.45 after announcing preliminary positive data from the open-label extension portion of the PALISADE-4 phase 3 study of Fasedienol for the acute treatment of social anxiety disorder.

Healthcare Triangle Inc (HCTI) rose 52.70% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.32 after announcing that it signed a non-binding LOI to acquire certain assets and intellectual property of Italy-based robotic automation company Roboticom.

In the current trading session, Surf Air Mobility Inc (SRFM) jumped 19.47% to $0.92 over a previous close of $0.77 after announcing that it signed a definitive agreement with SkyDance Air for OperatorOS, its flight operations software powered by Palantir.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

NewtekOne Inc (NEWT) 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 $0.19 per share. It has set September 24 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 01. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.76 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, NEWT has a trailing yield of 6.59% on the current stock price of $11.52.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Alerus Financial Corp (ALRS), having a market capitalization of $795.81M. It will pay a dividend of $0.22 per share, the payment date of which is October 09. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.67%.

Shares of First Guaranty Bancshares Inc (FGBI) will be the talk of the stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.01 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.04 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that FGBI has a trailing yield of 0.49% on the current share price of $8.18.

Heartland Express Inc (HTLD) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from HTLD will amount to $0.02 per share. September 25 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 07. In the previous year, HTLD distributed a total of $0.08 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for HTLD stands at 0.69% based on the current stock price of $11.6.

NRC Health (NRC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.16 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of September 25. Over the past 12 months, NRC has paid out a total of $0.60 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NRC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.80% on the current share price of $21.46.

Crypto Market Highlights

• RBI partners with Bitpanda to expand crypto services across Europe.

• MoonPay agrees to acquire North Capital to expand into regulated U.S. securities and tokenized RWAs.

• EU regulators warn quantum computing could threaten blockchain security.

• BitMEX shuts down its exchange after more than 11 years of operations.

• Sen. John Curtis calls for a Senate investigation into the Trump and Biden sons’ business activities, including crypto links.

Most Shorted Stocks

Ramaco Resources Inc (METC) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 40.53% 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 6.7. This represents a change of 67425 shares, which corresponds to a 0.49% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $128.3 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.03M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $539.57M.

The Xponential Fitness Inc with the symbol XPOF currently has a short interest of 24.64%. The short interest has changed by 280572 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 17.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $34.7 million. On an average day, 832.52K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $185.19M.

For the stock 4D Molecular Therapeutics Inc (FDMT), the current short interest is at 23.72%. This represents a significant short interest change of -220392 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -1.79%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 8.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $183.21 million.

With the symbol CELC, the stock currently has a short interest of 25.20%. The short interest change is 152747 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 1.45%. It would take approximately 15.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $976.76 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.18M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $3.96B.

The stock BBW has a current short interest of 22.60%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of 8.55%, while there was a change of -254406 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 2.2. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $280.88 million. Trading activity averages at 568.02K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $323.75M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Twilio Inc (TWLO) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 52. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (TSM) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 53. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak financial strength. The performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Innodata Inc (INOD) has the ST Score of 57, 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 forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

UiPath Inc (PATH) stock has the ST Score of 56, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Arista Networks Inc (ANET) currently has the ST Score of 52, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability and financial strength. The stock's performance, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team