U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday as hotter-than-expected inflation data and ongoing bank earnings weighed on investor sentiment. As of 11:10 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near flat, while the S&P 500 fell 0.81% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.12%. 

September CPI inflation reached 3.7% year over year, exceeding economists’ 3.6% forecast, driven by rising energy prices. 

Semiconductor stocks remained under pressure, despite ASML reporting record third-quarter sales and raising its annual outlook on strong AI demand.

Investors awaited Taiwan Semiconductor’s earnings, while Brent crude traded above $105 per barrel amid geopolitical tensions.

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Top Movers: Under $10 

AMTD IDEA Group ADR (AMTD) is up 74.10% today to trade at the current level of $0.66 after announcing the expansion of its AMTD IDEA-branded hotel network across five major global cities, strengthening its international hospitality presence.

Yiren Digital Ltd ADR (YRD) zoomed 28.11% in today’s trade to $0.58 after providing a further update on several recent developments concerning the company amid the investigation involving certain affiliates of the Company's controlling shareholder.

In current trading, Greenland Mines Ltd (GRML) stock is at $7.08 as Trump’s renewed focus on Greenland’s strategic importance and mineral exploration fueled investor optimism.

MaxCyte Inc (MXCT) rose 34.81% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.30 after reporting preliminary third-quarter 2026 revenue and raising full-year 2026 revenue guidance.

In the current trading session, GEN Restaurant Group Inc (GENK) jumped 29.76% to $1.88 over a previous close of $1.45 after announcing that it has signed a binding letter of intent with Chubby Group to sell operations at 47 U.S. restaurants while retaining the GEN brand and the GEN CPG business for $100 million.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

BCP Investment Corp (BCIC) 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 set December 15 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on December 30. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.33 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, BCIC has a trailing yield of 19.09% on the current stock price of $6.95.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Camden National Corp (CAC), having a market capitalization of $942.18M. It will pay a dividend of $0.42 per share, the payment date of which is October 30. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.02%.

Shares of City Holding Co (CHCO) 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 $1 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $3.48 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that CHCO has a trailing yield of 2.50% on the current share price of $139.35.

Norwood Financial Corp (NWFL) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NWFL will amount to $0.32 per share. October 15 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for November 02. In the previous year, NWFL distributed a total of $1.27 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NWFL stands at 3.75% based on the current stock price of $33.85.

VSE Corp (VSEC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.1 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 15. Over the past 12 months, VSEC has paid out a total of $0.40 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, VSEC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.24% on the current share price of $164.34.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Kraken’s parent company, Payward, plans to acquire Lithuania-based Saldo Bank to expand into traditional financial services.

• Coins.ph confirmed it retains its central bank license despite reports of possible revocation over alleged gambling-related transactions.

• Standard Chartered has expanded Bitcoin and Ether trading to eligible professional investors in the UAE.

• Starknet launched a privacy feature allowing users to access DeFi apps without publicly linking activity to their main wallets.

• Trezor will reduce its reseller network as a precaution following reports of malicious implants in Ledger devices.

Most Shorted Stocks

ERock Inc (EROC) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 25.36% 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 4.3. This represents a change of 2743730 shares, which corresponds to a 29.66% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $124.99 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.54M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.29B.

The Neurogene Inc with the symbol NGNE currently has a short interest of 28.15%. The short interest has changed by 1694577 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 11.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $109.0 million. On an average day, 255.13K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $438.45M.

For the stock Oxford Industries Inc (OXM), the current short interest is at 26.53%. This represents a significant short interest change of 63677 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 1.74%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 6.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $93.36 million.

With the symbol SEI, the stock currently has a short interest of 26.73%. The short interest change is 613232 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 3.90%. It would take approximately 6.2 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $270.95 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 3.00M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $5.85B.

The stock ARRY has a current short interest of 24.88%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 8.00% while there was a change of 2,820,632 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 5.3. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $153.43 million. Trading activity averages at 6.67M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $523.51M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Tower Semiconductor Ltd (TSEM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 60. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies UiPath Inc (PATH) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 56. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak stock sentiment and forecast. The performance and growth are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) has the ST Score of 63, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Performance, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Monolithic Power System Inc (MPWR) stock has the ST Score of 61, 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 55, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, growth, and financial strength. The stock's performance, 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