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

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We are halfway through the week and it seems the major indices need a break. One reason for the slump is a new report from ADP — private-sector employers added just 330,000 jobs in July. That stacks up poorly to estimates for 690,000 jobs. With a key labor report due on Friday, what did the stock market do today?

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

Source: Shutterstock

  • The S&P 500 closed down 0.46%
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.92%
  • The Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.13%

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

What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Vote AMC.

AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) closed down 11% today, a move some credit to its hard-to-recover business model and shifting investor interests. Over the past month, AMC stock is down 42%.

InvestorPlace Markets Analyst Thomas Yeung has explored, the reality is that many eager retail traders have moved on from GameStop (NYSE:GME) and AMC in search for new opportunities. Another part of this reality is that many retail traders have moved on in general. Reopening in the U.S. has brought about interest in vacations — not the stock market. For companies relying on r/WallStreetBets, Robinhood and a lot of investors with free time, that has been a problem.

However, it seems that AMC CEO Adam Aron learned some important lessons from the apes, and he is still putting those to use. On Aug. 9, the company will next share earnings. Its shareholder call will also mark the first time AMC Entertainment takes questions directly from individual investors.

Working with Say Technologies, AMC has offered up a platform for verified individual investors to pose questions and suggestions for the retail-favorite company. Currently, hot topics include future dividend payments, drive-in theaters, direct-to-streaming releases and even the possibility of a partnership with GameStop.

So what do you need to know? As InvestorPlace Assistant News Writer Brenden Rearick wrote today, this has certainly caught the attention of the apes. #AMCSAYVOTE created a storm on Twitter… and it has renewed interest in naked short-selling.

Big News From the Big 3?

According to a new Reuters report, legacy automakers Ford (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), the Chrysler parent, are about to share some big news. More specifically, the trio will announce tomorrow a shared goal to have 40%-50% of new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.

As David Shepardson wrote, the announcement will come tomorrow at a White House event, where President Joe Biden and electric vehicle executives will be in attendance. General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have already shared emissions goals of their own, with GM working to end new sales of gasoline-powered, light-duty vehicles by 2035.

Importantly, this White House event comes at a time when electric vehicle funding is in the spotlight. The newest version of the infrastructure bill includes $7.5 billion to build more EV chargers. Beyond that, Biden has pushed for $174 billion in spending to broadly boost electric car adoption.

So where do things stand? Investors have been betting on an all-electric future, taking Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) to new heights and rallying behind startups like Lucid Motors (NASDAQ:LCID). However, besides Tesla, sales of EVs in the U.S. remain “small.” That has not stopped the legacy automakers from pushing ahead with electrification goals and new, consumer-friendly models such as the electric F-150 and the GMC Hummer.

One more thing to watch: While old-school automakers are quickly giving startups a run for their money, the chip shortage is still having an impact. Today GM stock dropped 8.9% after missing earnings estimates… largely thanks to issues with its Chevrolet Bolt EV.

What Else We’re Watching

  • Forbes reported today that Rihanna is now officially a billionaire, worth $1.7 billion. Worth noting is that nearly $1.4 billion of that comes from her stake in Fenty Beauty, her makeup company. The rest is from her Savage x Fenty and her performing career.
  • With concerns around the Delta, Lambda and Delta-Plus variants of Covid-19 center stage, Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) shared some positive news. The biotech company said today that, upon receiving regulatory approval, it would send 200 million vaccines to the European Union. This report sent NVAX stock up nearly 18%.
  • SCWorx (NASDAQ:WORX) has emerged as the latest short squeeze stock. Closing 19% higher on Wednesday, it seems investors like WORX for its high short interest and an old press release. The company announced back in March 2020 that one of its subsidiaries provided surgical masks to hospitals. Tying back into renewed Covid-19 fears, WORX became a quick winner.

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/2021/08/what-did-the-stock-market-do-today-3-big-stories-robinhood-stock-amc-stock/.

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