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

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What a busy day on Wall Street! Cryptos took a dive, the stock market rapidly reversed course, and the Colonial Pipeline restarted operations amid a gas shortage. That is a lot to sort through, but InvestorPlace is here to help. So what did the stock market do today?

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

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  • The S&P 500 closed higher by 1.22%
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 1.29%
  • The Nasdaq Composite closed higher by 0.72%

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

What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Unmask.

The newest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has Wall Street excited. In an update on Thursday, the CDC shared that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks indoors… regardless of crowd size or physical distance. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky says this is a way for people to return to their pre-pandemic activities.

Beyond the headlines, the CDC says it is loosening its guidelines in response to the science around Covid-19 vaccines. It affirmed in its Thursday updates that vaccinated individuals are less likely to transmit the virus, and that vaccines “stand up” to variants.

The major indices rebounded following the update, and tech stocks started to recover after a three-day losing streak. Also helping matters on Thursday was the weekly initial jobless claims report, which dipped below the 500,000 threshold for the first time in the pandemic era.

For investors, there is still a push and pull present in the recovery narrative. Earlier this week, a jobs report disappointment and inflation fears weighed on stocks. It seems the promise of easing restrictions is sparking a change in sentiment. Most S&P 500 constituents ended the day on a positive note.

Musk Sparks Interest in Eco-Friendly Cryptos

Elon Musk turned the whole crypto world upside down in the blink of an eye.

Just a few months after announcing that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was adding Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) to its balance sheet and accepting BTC as a payment option, Musk is reversing course. Citing the use of fossil fuels in Bitcoin mining, he said Tesla was no longer accepting Bitcoin as a payment. He added that the company would not be selling any of its BTC holdings, and that he generally believes in cryptocurrencies. He also linked the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, which shows rapid growth in Bitcoin energy consumption since 2020.

As one of the preeminent crypto influencers, his reversal shook the market. Bitcoin plunged, and cryptos like Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) and XRP (CCC:XRP-USD) joined it in the dumps. Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) has already been struggling this week after Musk called it a “hustle” on SNL.

For investors, there was a silver lining. Musk said that Tesla was looking into alternate cryptocurrencies that use less than 1% of Bitcoin’s energy per transaction. This sparked a search for eco-friendly cryptos, and led Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) to a new all-time high. Although not all crypto bulls consider environmental impact when investing, today gave lesser-known cryptos like Nano (CCC:NANO-USD) and BitGreen (CCC:BITG-USD) some time in the spotlight.

You can read more about some of the top green coins here.

Are Cannabis Stocks Making a Comeback?

Although cryptocurrencies have been stealing the show lately, some big moves are happening in the cannabis world. Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) closed its merger with Aphria, Sundial (NASDAQ:SNDL) surprised Wall Street with positive EBITDA and Trulieve (OTCMKTS:TCNNF) just announced it would buy Harvest Health & Recreation (OTCMKTS:HRVSF) in another billion-dollar acquisition.

For investors, there is one company that seems particularly interesting.

On Tuesday, Flora Growth (NASDAQ:FLGC) hit the Nasdaq, bringing with it a unique cannabis approach. Unlike many other Canada-headquartered companies, Flora Growth focuses its operations in Colombia. There, it grows its cannabis outdoors for 6 cents a gram of dry flower. That compares to roughly $1.25 per gram that indoor growers spend in North American facilities.

What is the bottom line? Although Flora Growth dipped in its IPO, growing buzz in the cannabis space makes FLGC stock one 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. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Sarah Smith is the Editor of Today’s Market with InvestorPlace.com. 


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/05/what-did-the-stock-market-do-today-3-big-stories-btc-ada-nano-xrp-flgc-stock-sndl/.

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