Well, investors certainly saw another busy day in the stock market. We saw a variety of so-called Reddit stocks pop on short-squeeze hopes while cryptos struggled to tread water. Electric vehicle stocks, fueled on by news from the White House, also captivated Wall Street. So what all did the stock market do today? You can dive in with InvestorPlace below.
To start, the major indices all ended the day in the green. The S&P 500 added 0.93%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.93%. The Nasdaq Composite also gained, up 1.19%.
So what else did the stock market do today? Here are the top three stories.
What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Watch EV Stocks.
Electric vehicle makers were once the kings of Wall Street.
These days, investors in even the most popular of EV stocks are seeing a lot of red. An ongoing chip shortage, valuation concerns, inflation fears, U.S.-China trade tensions and so much more are weighing on the sector. Plus, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cracking down on blank-check companies, there is a general sense of uneasiness for pre-merger offerings like Churchill Capital IV (NYSE:CCIV).
Today, President Joe Biden may have turned that story around. As a result, several top electric vehicle stocks like Fisker (NYSE:FSR), Nio (NYSE:NIO), Canoo (NYSE:GOEV) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) gained. CCIV, the blank-check company behind Lucid Motors, also rallied on the day.
Driving the news is a report that Biden will take a harsher stand on auto emissions. This stems from an ongoing battle between California and former President Donald Trump. California wanted to set its own, stricter-than-average standard for automakers. Trump wanted it to follow the national standard. According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden is looking to drop that fight and pursue stricter standards for the entire country. This comes as he talks of investment in EV charging station networks and key battery mineral operations, like lithium miners.
Beyond this news, Biden also has been talking up his plans for the U.S. electric vehicle industry. On a virtual tour of the Proterra plant yesterday, Biden said the U.S. needed to one day overtake China as the leader in all-electric vehicles. His bold words also helped stoke EV stocks today.
Is a Crash in Bitcoin Coming?
Investors likely know that a variety of factors have Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) well off its all-time highs. As we have reported in recent days, talk of enhanced regulation and a mining outage in Xinjiang have contributed to this selloff. Now, many on Wall Street are wondering what comes next.
JPMorgan Chase analysts think they have an answer. According to the new report, Bitcoin has one key challenge that it must overcome. If the leading digital currency cannot retake the $60,000 threshold, BTC could find itself in a tough spot. In fact, JPMorgan warns that a failure to quickly return to the $60,000 level could see Bitcoin all but disappear. Other analysts have similarly turned bearish in their Bitcoin price predictions, likely due to some uneasiness in the crypto space.
What else should you note? Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency facing a bearish run.
Although Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) initially avoided the weekend selloff and powered into #DogeDay on Tuesday, April 20, DOGE has lost its lucky streak. The meme coin is down more than 20% from its all-time high, prompting some commentators to say the Dogecoin bubble has burst. The dip in Dogecoin prices has also prompted discussion of short-selling the cryptocurrency. According to industry expert Mike Novogratz, although such a move is possible through leveraged tokens, it would be highly risky.
At this point, bearish sentiment on cryptos is definitely growing louder. However, as Novogratz highlights, investors support for the crypto space is still strong. Betting against it could be a costly move.
UiPath IPO Paints a Path for Software Success
UiPath (NYSE:PATH) launched on the New York Stock Exchange in what is one of the largest software IPOs of all time. The company and its investors offered up 23.9 million shares, and UiPath brought in more than $1.3 billion in proceeds from the debut.
So what is UiPath? Essentially, the company wants to help automate routine office tasks.
The company calls this software technology robotic process automation, or RPA. Companies can use this software to build, deploy and manage software robots that basically can copy certain worker functions. The UiPath software can help automate keystrokes and some processes of identifying and extracting data. For potential customers, UiPath says the perk is that these software robots can work faster and more consistently than people, because software robots do not have to take bathroom breaks.
For investors, CNBC says that the size of the software IPO is certainly noteworthy. However, writer Ari Levy is more interested in the way in which UiPath has attracted and maintained customers. In just the last year, the average customer increased their spending by 45%.
Interested in learning more about PATH stock? You can find everything you need to know here.
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.
