What Will the Stock Market Do Today? 3 Big Stories to Watch.

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Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! We are kicking off the week with talk of shortages and meme coins, and there is a lot for investors to digest. So what will 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 is down 0.12%
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.76%
  • The Nasdaq Composite is down 1.63%

So what will the stock market do today? Here are the top stories.

What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Talk Hustles.

The Dogefather disappointed on Saturday, calling beloved meme coin Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) a hustle. Granted, he also said that “It’s the future of currency. It’s an unstoppable financial vehicle that’s going to take over the world.”

Still, his comments failed to inspire confidence after a major rally that took Dogecoin prices to an all-time high above 69 cents. DOGE saw a selloff that took it down as much as 30%. Now, the cryptocurrency is currently trading for just over 49 cents.

Musk also highlighted a real dilemma that investors face. Dogecoin is fun — it has catalyzed a cryptocurrency moment around memes and community, and it will even be used to send a SpaceX satellite to the moon. But after the SNL callout, investors are wondering: Can DOGE pass the next test? Is this the real deal, a cryptocurrency that could hit $1 and beyond? Some like Mark Cuban are convinced that Dogecoin has long-lasting utility, but that remains to be seen.

In the meantime, investors are looking for the so-called Dogecoin killer. The Shiba Inu (CCC:SHIB-USD) token is rocketing higher on Monday, up more than 100% after a listing on Binance. You can read more about Shiba Inu (SHIB) price predictions here.

Colonial Pipeline Highlights Shortage, Cybersecurity Needs

On Friday, the operator of the Colonial Pipeline was hit with a ransomware attack, possibly by a hacker group known as DarkSide. As a result, the pipeline remains mostly offline, and analysts are not sure when operations will restart.

For those unfamiliar, Colonial Pipeline is the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. It transports more than 100 million gallons of fuel each day from Houston, Texas to the New York area. This makes the cyber attack no insignificant feat, and raises real questions for investors. How long it takes for the pipeline to get back in action will largely determine the outcome… and the short-term direction for crude oil prices.

Pipeline stocks like Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET), Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) and Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) are slightly higher on Monday.

For Colonial Pipeline, this hit was an impetus to pull in cybersecurity experts and launch a federal investigation. For investors, there may be broader takeaways.

The first is that the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack is raising real interest in cybersecurity stocks. As InvestorPlace Markets Analyst Joanna Makris wrote recently, we are entering an age of real internet innovation. With that, we will see a rise of bad actors targeting connected devices and key infrastructure. Companies that can help us navigate these security risks are winning plays. Makris recommends Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK), but here are seven other top cybersecurity stock picks.

The other takeaway? This cyber attack plays into a colliding series of supply-demand imbalances gearing up to hit consumers. Depending on how long it takes to get the Colonial Pipeline fully operational, we could see supply shortages and gas price hikes on the East Coast. With talk of a summer gas shortage already swirling, investors should pay close attention.

Copper Picks Up a Shortage Sparkle

Talk of another shortage this morning is also grabbing investor attention. That is because growing supply-demand imbalances in copper have some analysts setting price targets of $20,000 per ton by 2025. Other bullish price predictions go as high as $15,000.

So what is happening? Copper produces are facing a supply crunch from Covid-19 shutdowns, as well as a lack of exploration and discovery. Demand for the metal is reaching record levels, fueled on by global reopening and electrification. That is because copper is a key component of decarbonization and electrification solutions such as electric vehicle batteries.

For analysts, these factors are a perfect storm that will take copper prices and copper stocks higher. Producers like Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) and Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE:TRQ) were seeing a boost on Monday morning.

However, the copper dynamic highlights another key issue. As experts called out last week, the U.S. has not invested enough in the key metals and rare minerals needed for electrification. With President Joe Biden pushing ahead on clean energy goals, a broader shortage could be a real roadblock.

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 the Editor of Today’s Market with InvestorPlace.com. 


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/05/what-will-the-stock-market-do-today-3-big-stories-shib-dogecoin-colonial-pipeline-shortages/.

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