US stocks edged lower Thursday, as investors weighed strong earnings expectations against renewed inflation concerns. As of 11:28 AM ET, the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, while Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.5%; the Dow was little changed.

Treasury yields remained elevated, with the 10-year at 5.29% and the 30-year at 5.67%, signaling tighter financial conditions.

Investors are awaiting third-quarter earnings, with FactSet forecasting 29.5% S&P 500 earnings growth, potentially marking the third straight quarter above 25%.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims slipped to 197,000 for the week ended Oct. 3, indicating layoffs remain historically low.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Jianzhi Education Technology Group Co Ltd ADR (JZ) is up 48.96% today to trade at the current level of $0.7. This comes after the company announced a share repurchase program.

BioAffinity Technologies Inc (BIAF) zoomed 28.25% in today’s trade to $7.9 after announcing notification of Japanese patent allowance covering Noninvasive CyPath® lung and AI-Built Algorithm.

In current trading, Xcel Brands Inc (XELB) stock is at $0.56 after announcing a transformative agreement to launch PetHelpful x Trust·Respect·Love by Cesar Millan.

Profound Medical Corp (PROF) rose 14.64% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $6.51 after reporting strong preliminary third-quarter 2026 revenue.

In the current trading session, Adc Therapeutics SA (ADCT) jumped 8.45% to $1.54 over a previous close of $1.42 after announcing comprehensive strategic financial restructuring, marking key capital structure improvements.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

CF Bankshares Inc (CFBK) 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 $0.09 per share. It has fixed October 12 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 20. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.35 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, CFBK has a trailing yield of 1.03% on the current stock price of $34.11.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is U.S. Global Investors Inc (GROW), having a market capitalization of $35.66M. It will pay a dividend of $0.01 per share, the payment date of which is December 28. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.31%.

Shares of Netapp Inc (NTAP) 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 $0.52 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $2.08 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that NTAP has a trailing yield of 0.88% on the current share price of $235.77.

Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from SAIC will amount to $0.37 per share. October 09 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 23. In the previous year, SAIC distributed a total of $1.48 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for SAIC stands at 1.21% based on the current stock price of $122.08.

Johnson Outdoors Inc (JOUT) will be paying out a dividend of $0.33 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 09. Over the past 12 months, JOUT has paid out a total of $1.32 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, JOUT boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.00% on the current share price of $43.96.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Vitalik Buterin backed a warning that AI advances could threaten blockchain cryptography before quantum computers do.

• Circle is partnering with Tereina to bring USDC and EURC into enterprise payment workflows.

• Tether signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to explore a tenge-pegged stablecoin and real-world asset tokenization.

• Coinbase completed its Deribit integration, expanding regulated crypto derivatives access for eligible U.S. customers.

• World Liberty Financial plans to bring USD1 stablecoin payments to major online businesses.

Most Shorted Stocks

Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 34.35% 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 6.9. This represents a change of 1702927 shares, which corresponds to a 6.56% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $664.15 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.28M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.34B.

The PureCycle Technologies Inc with the symbol PCT currently has a short interest of 34.48%. The short interest has changed by 716995 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 18.0. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $213.77 million. On an average day, 4.46M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $763.43M.

For the stock Abeona Therapeutics Inc (ABEO), the current short interest is at 29.64%. This represents a significant short interest change of 587910 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 3.88%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 12.0. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $79.99 million.

With the symbol MARA, the stock currently has a short interest of 27.34%. The short interest change is -5515069 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -5.01%. It would take approximately 2.4 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $163.12 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 46.89M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $4.00B.

The stock CSIQ has a current short interest of 34.40%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 3.58% while there was a change of 633891 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 10.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $1.18 billion. Trading activity averages at 1.99M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $763.84M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Corcept Therapeutics Inc (CORT) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 56. The stock's profitability, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are strong. However, its performance is weak.

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

Another stock in the category, Argen X SE ADR (ARGX) has the ST Score of 58, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast. Performance suggests a neutral outlook.

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

Halozyme Therapeutics Inc (HALO) currently has the ST Score of 61, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast, while its weak points are its financial strength.

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

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team