Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! Big cryptocurrency news, a new space-focused exchange-traded fund and all sorts of infrastructure rumors are swirling on Wall Street right now. So what will the stock market do today? And what else do you need to know?
To start, the top movers this morning are a mixed bunch. GameStop (NYSE:GME) is gaining once again on news of new growth-focused executives. NFT plays like Color Star (NASDAQ:CSCW) continue to rise on crypto hopes. And for space stocks, the launch of a new fund from Cathie Wood seems rather promising.
So what else will the stock market do today? Here are the top three stories.
What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Pay With Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (CCC:BTC) is climbing this morning, close once again to $60,000.
Its latest move higher comes as mainstream support for the leading cryptocurrency grows. Yesterday we learned that Visa (NYSE:V) would settle payments using the USDT stablecoin. Today, PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) is making waves with a big announcement of its own.
As Anna Irrera wrote for Reuters this morning, PayPal is set to announce that it will allow customers to complete transactions with its online merchants using Bitcoin. How will it work? Customers who old Bitcoin, Litecoin (CCC:LTC), Ether (CCC:ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (CCC:BCH) in their PayPal digital wallets will be able to convert those holdings into fiat currencies at checkout. From there, they will be able to complete transactions at 29 million online merchants. And in practice, Irrera wrote that this will be the same as customers using credit or debit cards in their PayPal wallets.
Just as news that customers can now pay for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicles gave BTC a boost, expect the PayPal announcement to have a positive impact. Growing ease of use and visibility could help customers become more comfortable with cryptocurrencies. For investors, that growing visibility and institutional support is a key part of the bull thesis.
Keep a close eye on Bitcoin today.
Clean Energy Investments Could Still Power Up
Investors likely remember that the summer brought gains for all things green. Plant-based food companies, electric vehicle makers, solar power plays and hydrogen fuel cell stocks all soared. Campaigns ahead of the November election focused on the climate, with President Joe Biden promising $2 trillion in clean energy investment. To Wall Street, that made a Democratic victory a huge catalyst.
Since taking office, Biden has made historic, climate-friendly moves. In some of his first days in the White House, he rejoined the Paris climate agreement and blocked the Keystone XL pipeline.
However, with so much attention on his infrastructure spending plan this week, some investors are feeling a bit apprehensive with clean energy stocks. That is because many experts predict that the first phase of the infrastructure bill will focus on roads and bridges — the traditional stuff. Later phases could expand into child care and healthcare, but little mention has been made thus far of green infrastructure spending. Yesterday, that appeared to be weighing on fuel cell stocks like Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) and Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE).
But news yesterday also gave investors in clean energy reason to be hopeful. Along with that, interest in so-called wind power and wind energy stocks spiked. The Biden administration shared new plans to boost the offshore wind industry and tap into another source of emission-free electricity. Part of this plan is a bold new target — the government wants to deploy enough offshore windmills to power “millions of American homes” by 2030. This would generate 30 gigawatts of power, and employ as many as 44,000 people.
Immediately following the announcement investors turned to wind power stocks. One potential winner? Orsted (OTCMKTS:DNNGY), a Danish company already working with the U.S. on offshore wind projects.
Keep this story on your radar, and wait for clean energy infrastructure news. Democrats are likely working on legislation of their own to facilitate such spending.
The Other Ark Invest Story
All eyes today are on the new Ark Space Exploration ETF (BATS:ARKX) as the latest fund from Ark Invest starts trading. Behind the appeal of the ARKX ETF is the management of Cathie Wood, a stock market influencer and a proven innovator. Also behind the appeal is the bet on space. Importantly, this is something that has fueled gains in all sorts of space stocks and space SPACs in recent weeks.
Today, Wall Street is paying close attention to the ARKX ETF and its top holdings, with names like Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) and Kratos (NASDAQ:KTOS) already getting a boost.
However, there is another Ark Invest story that is worth watching.
Late last week, Ark Invest edited the prospectuses for its exchange-traded funds to remove clauses around limiting exposure and concentration risks. In other words, Ark no longer limits concentration in any one stock to 30%. This comes at a time when other fund managers are taking jabs at Wood for her large investments.
What does this mean for investors? It may be too soon to tell how Wood runs with these changes, but some analysts think it will give us even more insight to what she likes. It gives her more freedom to heavily weight to stocks she thinks will be winners. And with space stocks now in her wheelhouse, investors should start paying closer to attention to what she is buying and selling.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is a Web Content Producer with InvestorPlace.com.
