What Will the Stock Market Do Today, Aug. 25? 3 Big Stories to Watch.

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Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) is listing on a new exchange, TikTok is unrolling new shopping features and OnlyFans is abandoning its ban on pornographic content. Clearly, Wednesday is already off to a busy start. So beyond all this, what will 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 is up 0.12%
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.06%
  • The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.17%

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

What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Squeeze.

Yesterday, seemingly out of nowhere, meme stocks GameStop (NYSE:GME) and AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) shot higher. GameStop shares closed higher by nearly 30%, and AMC shares closed up 20%. Over the last 24 hours, mentions of GME stock on r/WallStreetBets are up nearly 500%.

True fans will argue that you should have seen these gains coming. Social media activity may have slowed, at least in terms of daily mentions on Reddit, but investors have continued to hope for further squeezes. Executives from the GameStop and AMC have continued to stoke the fire, promising collaborations, crypto payments and direct interaction with retail shareholders.

This week has also brought the major indices to new all-time highs. Full approval of the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) has helped ease Covid-19 fears and strengthen the reopening narrative. An upcoming Federal Reserve summit has also been lifting the market, bringing Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) back to $50,000 for the first time in months. It makes sense that meme stocks would also get a lift.

But where do things go from here? And is it time to buy meme stocks?

Investors looking for next steps should look at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY). The consumer electronics retailer rode the r/WallStreetBets wave earlier this year as investors sought out old-school brick-and-mortar businesses. But Best Buy was different… even then. The company pivoted to navigate the pandemic, offering curbside pickup and online shopping options. Plus, all the time we spent indoors led many shoppers to buy a few new devices.

As CEO Corie Barry shared earlier this week, that trend is not disappearing anytime soon.

Even though shoppers are embracing a reopening world, Best Buy is still bullish on its future. In fact, the company raised its guidance for the second half of this year and beat earnings estimates for the quarter. Consumers are continuing to upgrade their work-from-home tech, and electronics have just become more integral in our daily lives.

In other words, if you are looking for meme stocks, consider the businesses that are doing the best right now.

Get Secure

Today, President Joe Biden has an important item on his agenda. He will be meeting at the White House with leaders from top tech companies like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and finance companies like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). This meeting comes after prominent attacks on SolarWinds and the Colonial Pipeline.

During the meeting, Biden and these executives will talk about cybersecurity as it relates to key industries like tech, financial services and energy. They will also talk about cybersecurity in the workforce and how to keep private companies safe.

As a result of these conversations, officials promise that the White House will be walking away with a more concrete plan. Biden should then be sharing national goals around cybersecurity. Already, officials have said that the focus will be on root causes of attacks, like weak infrastructure and unfilled cybersecurity roles.

So what does this all mean for investors? Cybersecurity is a critical issue facing the United States right now, and our move to a more remote world has only amplified this. The meeting today at the White House and the prioritization of security by Biden are big steps in the right direction. To profit, investors should be searching for the companies that can help fulfill these goals and keep our tech safe.

Start with this list of seven top cybersecurity stocks to buy now.

What Else We’re Watching

  • In an effort to fit in with the crowd, Paxos Standard (CCC:PAX-USD) is rebranding to Pax Dollar (CCC:USDP-USD). The crypto company hopes this will signal to users new and old that USDP is a dollar-backed stablecoin.
  • Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is under fire for its handling of customer service requests. According to a new CNBC report, individuals have reported losing more than $150,000 in account hacks. These users say that Coinbase failed to help afterwards, placing blame on the hackers.
  • Waymo, a division of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), officially launched its robotaxi service in San Francisco yesterday. The ride-hailing service is launching on a test basis, and the self-driving cars will have drivers behind the wheel.
  • Popular eyewear firm Warby Parker announced that it will come public in a direct listing.

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-will-the-stock-market-do-today-aug-25-3-big-stories-to-watch/.

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