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

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Another busy day in the stock market is over, and one lucky meme stock saw its share price more than double in Wednesday trading. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the chaos? You are certainly not alone. Trading today felt like déjà vu (and not the Olivia Rodrigo kind) from January 2021. So what did the stock market do today? Dive in and get caught up with InvestorPlace.

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 0.14%
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 0.07%
  • The Nasdaq Composite closed higher by 0.14%

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

What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Hunt for Moonshots.

AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) rocketed on Wednesday, closing higher by nearly 100%.

The impressive gains follow a broader resurgence of short-squeeze hopes, as well as a few specific catalysts. AMC has been riding higher on Covid-19 reopening plans, as Memorial Day Weekend proved that consumers were ready to get out and head to the movie theater. Additionally, a $230 million cash injection and a shareholder engagement program are also sweetening the deal for AMC stock.

Today, it was clear that investor sentiment is still incredibly bullish on AMC. However, a new trend is beginning to emerge.

Just as AMC replaced GameStop (NYSE:GME) as idol of r/WallStreetBets, investors are already looking for the next big thing. This desperate search saw a return of Reddit stocks like Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) and Build-a-Bear (NYSE:BBW). This retail names saw a boost in January and February, but had largely dropped off in investor interest. That is clearly changing — BBBY stock closed out Wednesday higher by 62%.

The formula has been pretty straightforward. Find a company with high short interest and in desperate need of a strategic turnaround. It gets extra points if it plays to nostalgia or at least is highly recognizable. Companies that are actually trying to turn around like GameStop and AMC have stood out as winners.

But now, it seems investors are willing to take any heavily shorted stocks higher, just in the name of defeating short-sellers. Skillz (NYSE:SKLZ) and Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) were some of the most active stocks on Wednesday, seeing ripple effects from AMC.

Read more about the quest to find the next AMC stock here.

Bye Bye Shiba Inu, Hello Life Token

There is a new champion in the cryptocurrency world, and this time, it does not have a dog mascot.

In recent days, Life Token (CCC:LTN-USD) emerged as the most-searched cryptocurrency on CoinMarketCap. Today, it was also the top trending cryptocurrency and one of the top gainers over a 24-hour period. At the time of writing, LTN was up nearly 90%.

So what do you need to know about the cryptocurrency?

Like many other popular cryptocurrencies these days, a key feature of Life Token is its transaction fees. LTN, which is a token on the Binance Smart Chain, charges sellers a 10% fee. Also as is typical, holders receive half of the total fee. A 1% fee is burned, and another 1% is set aside for marketing and promotional efforts. What makes Life Token stand out is that it is a charity-focused cryptocurrency.

In practice, this means that sellers pay a 3% fee that is donated to suicide prevention and other mental health charities. According to Life Token, its goal is to combat suicide by raising money from the cryptocurrency community. Thus far, it says that it has raised more than $2.5 million for charity.

So what is the bottom line? Charity-focused cryptocurrencies are certainly not new, but Life Token is certainly catching on with investors.

What Else We’re Watching

  • Daymak announced that its upcoming Spiritus electric vehicle will come with its proprietary cryptocurrency technology. In other words, once you reserve your Spiritus (set to launch in 2023) with Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD), you can reap the benefits down the line. Daymak says drivers will have access to crypto tech such as wallets. The biggest news? The cars themselves act as cryptocurrency miners.
  • Elon Musk tweeted out a reference to the popular song “Baby Shark” and started an uproar in the market. Samsung Publishers, which trades in South Korea, gained as much as 10% on the day. For those unfamiliar, Samsung Publishers has benefitted from the grating tune thanks to a cover and accompanying video.
  • Drunk college kids and commute coffee drinkers, unite! Beloved Krispy Kreme is going public, bringing its signature donuts as well as brands like Insomnia Cookies to Wall Street. Krispy Kreme anticipates trading as DNUT.

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/2021/06/what-did-the-stock-market-do-today-3-big-stories-amc-stock-bbby-stock-lifetoken/.

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