Most stocks fell on Wednesday, as the S&P 500 suffered its worst day since October, falling nearly 2.6%.
At issue was a growing concern about the pace of vaccine rollouts, despite a vow from the White House that the government would purchase enough vaccine doses to inoculate the entire country by the end of the summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 633 points, or nearly 2.1%, to finish at 30,303.
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AMC continues what GameStop set in motion. Beleaguered movie theater chain AMC Entertainment (ticker: AMC) had itself quite a day, with shares quadrupling on Wednesday as a flurry of individual investor buying forces hedge funds and other institutional investors betting against the stock to cover their short positions.
AMC stock’s value, like that of Reddit favorite GameStop ( GME), has become detached from reality; both businesses are in dire straits, but the frenzied buying and “short squeeze” that’s ensued from rallies in both stocks is driving prices higher.
GameStop shares also had themselves a remarkable day, surging 134% just a day after a meteoric 92% rise.
Other red-hot stocks: BBBY, BB, EXPR. What began as a small cabal of avid, speculative investors on Reddit hoping to stick it to big-money short sellers has turned into a wider revolt against heavily-shorted stocks.
Other stocks experiencing huge surges in investor interest include Bed Bath & Beyond ( BBBY), BlackBerry ( BB) and struggling retailer Express ( EXPR). Those stocks rose 43.5%, 33.4% and 214.1% respectively on Wednesday.
While the current craze must indeed come to an end eventually, investors seeking shelter in low-quality companies like those above have seen the biggest gains this week.
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AMC Stock Surges 301%; Broader Market Slumps originally appeared on usnews.com
