Major indexes regain lost ground; GameStop, AMC swing wildly | National
A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.
A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders work on the floor, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Stocks were broadly lower in afternoon trading Wednesday, as investors focus on the outlook for the economy and corporate profits amid a still-raging coronavirus pandemic.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders Michael Capolino, left, and John Panin, right, work on the floor, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Stocks were broadly lower in afternoon trading Wednesday, as investors focus on the outlook for the economy and corporate profits amid a still-raging coronavirus pandemic.
Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in New York. Stocks are climbing back in the early going on Wall Street Thursday, a day after the market took its biggest one-day loss since October.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, a specialist works at his post on the trading floor, Thursday, Jan 28, 2021. Stocks were moving sharply higher Thursday morning, a day after sinking to their worst loss since October amid lingering worries about the long-term economic damage from the pandemic.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Robert Charmak, left, works on the floor, Thursday, Jan 28, 2021. Stocks were moving sharply higher Thursday morning, a day after sinking to their worst loss since October amid lingering worries about the long-term economic damage from the pandemic.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, a specialist works at his post on the trading floor, Thursday, Jan 28, 2021. Stocks were moving sharply higher Thursday morning, a day after sinking to their worst loss since October amid lingering worries about the long-term economic damage from the pandemic.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader John Santiago works on the floor, Thursday, Jan 28, 2021. Stocks were moving sharply higher Thursday morning, a day after sinking to their worst loss since October amid lingering worries about the long-term economic damage from the pandemic.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were moving sharply higher Thursday afternoon, a day after sinking to their worst loss since October.
Investors continued to closely watch the wild swings in GameStop, AMC and several other stocks which have become targets for hordes of online investors who have sent them skyrocketing in recent days, taking on big hedge funds who have bet they will fall.
Several of those stocks fell sharply after Robinhood and other trading platforms restricted trading in them. The chaotic trading action is drawing calls from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others for regulatory action to curb the frenzy.
The S&P 500 was up 2% as of 12:53 p.m. Eastern, recovering much of the ground it lost a day earlier. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 587 points, or 1.9%, to 30,888. The Nasdaq composite was up 1.6%.
Mike Zigmont, director of trading and research at Harvest Volatility Management, said the cascade on Wednesday likely started when larger institutions started taking steps to reduce their exposure to risk at the same time, partly because of the sharp and questionable gains in several stocks. That prompted others in the market to follow suit, accelerating the decline. Similar sentiment may be driving shares higher Thursday.
