Meme stocks soar as market eyes stimulus boost
It’s still game on for traders of volatile “meme stocks.” Shares of GameStop jumped 18% in early trading Wednesday, putting the retailer on track for a sixth straight session of gains.
Headphone maker Koss catapulted even higher, up about 60%. That made cinema operator AMC Entertainment’s 10% hop seem tame by comparison.
Market strategists believe investors are betting that some Americans will use part of their $1400 stimulus checks they’re set to get under President Joe Biden’s new relief package to buy stocks, and that some of that will go to the popular ‘meme stocks’ that retail traders are heavily promoting on social media forums like Reddit’s WallStreetBets.
The poster child of those stocks, GameStop, saw its shares surge more than 1700% amid the social media frenzy that began in January.
Investors will need a cast iron stomach. GameStop rose as high as $483 in January, then nosedived more than 90% before sharply rebounding roughly 7-fold.
The big moves come as Wall Street awaits the highly anticipated debut of online gaming company Roblox later Wednesday. Social media posts suggest Roblox shares may lure investors that have favored GameStop and other volatile names that have captured Wall Street’s fancy this year.
