What Did the Stock Market Do Today? 3 Big Stories to Catch Up On.

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What a busy day. Electric vehicle stocks were on the move, cryptos cooled down and a bunch of federal policies saw stocks moving. So what all did the stock market do today? Dive in with InvestorPlace below.

Street sign for Wall Street pictured in front of several American flags representing american stocks

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To start, the major indices ended the day mixed. The S&P 500 gained 0.15%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.05%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, however, was less fortunate. It shed 0.07% in Wednesday trading.

So what else did the stock market do today? Here are the top three stories.

What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Follow the Fed.

All eyes were once again on the Federal Reserve Wednesday. Its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released minutes from a March meeting, and investors were eager for updates. What has the Federal Reserve been thinking? And what does it mean for the stock market?

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that the Fed really is committed to its current, ultra-easy monetary policy. In order for that stance to change, it is looking to make more progress on its goal of maximum employment. Although FOMC members have commented on economic recovery since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, many members believe the U.S. is still far off that employment goal.

So what does this mean for investors? On one hand, ongoing accommodative policy could trigger lingering inflation fears. On the other, Wall Street is already looking to a grouping of positive economic indicators that support bullish sentiment. In the long term, that latter perspective seems to be the more profitable one.

Last week, the March jobs report came in better than expected. Service sector activity is rebounding, as is manufacturing activity. The International Monetary Fund has also updated its outlook, now calling for 6% global growth this year. And as we reported this morning, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is calling for an economic boom to take the market through at least 2023.

As we look at a stock market near record highs and calls for continued economic growth, it makes sense for investors to focus on growth stocks. Here is what you should know before you invest.

Stocks Move as Biden Takes Action

President Joe Biden has his sleeves rolled up and he is ready to get to work. In response, various corners of the stock market are seeing movement.

The first thing on his agenda is infrastructure. Today, he delivered updates on his roughly $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan, which calls for investments in traditional and eco-friendly infrastructure. He shared that he would be willing to negotiate with Republicans on his proposal, and on taxes. His current plan calls for raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, but on Wednesday he shared he would be willing to negotiate a tax rate around 25%. Biden also shared that he was open to other money-raising proposals. For investors, his commitment to this infrastructure spending should bolster infrastructure stocks. InvestorPlace has already identified 21 worth watching here.

Elsewhere, Biden stirred up some volatility in gun stocks. That is because he is expected to address his planned executive actions tomorrow following back-to-back mass shootings. Right now, the White House has not elaborated on his plans, although they are largely around curbing gun violence. Speculation hints at mandatory background checks on ghost gun purchases, as well as further regulation of assault-style weapons. As investors wait for his plans, gun stocks ended Wednesday mixed.

Lastly, a January executive action is finally playing out on Wall Street. At the start of his term, Biden issued an executive order prohibiting the Department of Justice from renewing contracts with private prisons. Today, investors are seeing just what this means. As InvestorPlace Web Editor Vivian Medithi wrote, top private prison companies are looking to raise cash. GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) suspended its dividend and is rethinking its REIT structure. CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) is turning to debt financing. The bottom line? Medithi cautions investors that GEO and CoreCivic are already working on rebranding efforts.

OK, Boomer: Teens Flex Their Stock Market Muscles

The annual Taking Stock With Teens survey from Piper Sandler is here, and for investors, there are two noteworthy takeaways.

The first is that teen investors are bullish on cryptocurrencies too. For the first time ever, Piper Sandler included a crypto question. In response, the firm learned that 9% of the 7,000 respondents had already traded crypto. Although this result has surprised analysts, it makes a lot of sense. Over the last few months, cryptos have been boosted by growing mainstream interest. That interest is coming from teens, just as it is major retailers and financial institutions.

The second takeaway is a look at what has teens spending money. Top stocks on watch from the survey include Under Armour (NYSE:UA, NYSE:UAA), Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) and Crocs (NYSE:CROX). A surge of interest in athletics and athleisure, as well as broad support from Gen Z consumers, has senior analyst Erinn Murphy declaring these top stocks to watch.

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. 


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/04/what-did-the-stock-market-do-today-3-big-stories-infrastructure-stocks-geo-stock-fed/.

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