U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday, the final day of September, after August inflation data came in cooler than expected. 

As of 11:00 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 84 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed about 1%.

The PCE price index increased 3.4% year over year, down from 3.7%, while core PCE eased to 3.0% from 3.3%. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 5.27%, and the 30-year yield reached 5.622%.

Meanwhile, ADP reported 90,000 private-sector jobs added, above expectations of 68,000.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Tenon Medical Inc (TNON) is up 43.22% today to trade at the current level of $3.91. This comes after the company announced the launch of its new 3D-printed titanium lateral screw for the SImmetry+ SI Joint Fusion System.

Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd (CNTB) zoomed 30.04% in today’s trade to $1.29 after announcing positive preliminary topline data from its global phase 2 study of Rademikibart as an add-on treatment for acute exacerbations in adults with COPD and Type 2 Inflammation.

In current trading, Generation Essentials Group (TGE) stock is at $1.58 after announcing a 9.9x jump in profit, with total assets of US$1.8bn and net assets of US$932m.

Lion Group Holding Ltd ADR (LGHL) rose 13.08% in the early hours of today's trading to move to $5.1 after announcing a strategic reallocation of a portion of its digital-asset treasury.

In the current trading session, Valion Bio Inc (VBIO) jumped 19.08% to $3.37 over a previous close of $2.83 after announcing the completion of formulation work for an oral Entolimod* treatment using SKL’s BioViscid™ platform.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Andersons Inc (ANDE) 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 $0.2 per share. It has set October 01 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 22. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.80 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, ANDE has a trailing yield of 1.20% on the current stock price of $66.21.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Campbells Co (CPB), having a market capitalization of $6.03B. It will pay a dividend of $0.25 per share, with a payment date of which is November 02. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 7.71%.

Shares of Fulton Financial Corp (FULT) 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 $0.19 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.75 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that FULT has a trailing yield of 3.31% on the current share price of $22.65.

Pegasystems Inc (PEGA) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PEGA will amount to $0.03 per share. October 01 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 15. In the previous year, PEGA distributed a total of $0.12 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PEGA stands at 0.36% based on the current stock price of $32.97.

Washington Trust Bancorp Inc (WASH) will be paying out a dividend of $0.56 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 01. Over the past 12 months, WASH has paid out a total of $2.24 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, WASH boasts an impressive trailing yield of 5.90% on the current share price of $37.94.

Crypto Market Highlights

• AllUnity is launching a new US dollar-pegged stablecoin as demand for dollar-backed tokens continues to grow.

• Illinois released draft rules on how its 0.2% digital asset transaction tax could apply to stablecoins, DeFi, and other crypto activities.

• Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade is scheduled to go live on the Sepolia testnet on October 6.

• KakaoPay Securities, Dinari, and Ondo Finance are exploring bringing Korean-listed stocks onchain for international investors.

• Bitwise launched the first US spot ETP tracking NEAR, trading on NYSE Arca.

Most Shorted Stocks

CorMedix Inc (CRMD) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 21.54% 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 18.5. This represents a change of 170160 shares, which corresponds to a 1.06% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $128.48 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.08M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $618.10M.

The enCore Energy Corp with the symbol EU currently has a short interest of 21.33%. The short interest has changed by 1856927 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 5.0. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $46.22 million. On an average day, 4.90M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $223.42M.

For the stock Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH), the current short interest is at 20.74%. This represents a significant short interest change of 8542717 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 9.88%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $1.41 billion.

With the symbol QDEL, the stock currently has a short interest of 20.92%. The short interest change is 62315 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 0.44%. It would take approximately 10.8 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $1.01 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.48M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $726.56M.

The stock PLUG has a current short interest of 20.85%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of 1.27%, while there was a change of -3700582 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 $27.1 million. Trading activity averages at 53.61M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.67B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 55. The stock's profitability and financial strength are strong. However, its growth are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Atlassian Corp (TEAM) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 38. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak performance, growth, and financial strength. The stock sentiment and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, iRhythm Holdings Inc (IRTC) has the ST Score of 53, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability but weak in growth. Performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

DocuSign Inc (DOCU) stock has the ST Score of 42, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, growth, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its performance and financial strength. However, it shows a neutral outlook in stock sentiment and forecast.

Pagaya Technologies Ltd (PGY) currently has the ST Score of 56, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its performance, stock sentiment, and forecast. The stock's indicate a neutral outlook.

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

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team