Markets Weekly Recap

Markets Weekly Recap

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Key Takeaways

• Major indexes traded relatively quiet as the action went to meme stocks
• Cryptocurrencies had a volatile end of the week as Bitcoin dropped on Elon Musk tweets

The past week brought unexpected and volatile times across the financial markets, from equities to cryptocurrencies. Throughout the week, major US indexes traded relatively calm but mostly to the upside as investors seemingly grew more comfortable with the notion that higher inflation does not present an imminent threat for the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P500, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were trading moderately higher but near the end of the week lost their momentum as participants turned more cautious before entering the weekend.

The real action during the week, however, unfolded in individual stocks that in January became favorites among retail traders. AMC Entertainment shares on Wednesday spiked more than 120% and ended the session up 95% as executives at the company announced the movie theater chain will be giving out free popcorn to those who hold AMC stock. Speculative trading from retail investors followed, which pushed the share price of AMC to a record close of $62.55.

Meme Stocks Continue to Surprise

Other meme stocks also went through a dizzying rally this week. GameStop shares jumped over 13%, and BlackBerry stock advanced over 30% on Wednesday. The retail-inspired rally powered the same stocks from the January bonanza which took Wall Street by surprise. Phrases like “to the moon”, “meme stonks”, and “diamond hands” quickly returned to the financial lexicon this week.

On the cryptocurrency front, major digital assets traded relatively subdued this week with the exception of Dogecoin which surged more than 50% to a weekly high of $0.43. The rally accelerated after Coinbase announced it will be listing the meme-coin for trading on its Coinbase Pro platform, its more advanced cryptocurrency trading platform.

Bitcoin ended the week badly even as traders put large efforts to lift the digital asset after the staggering decline of more than 50% in April and May. Bitcoin declined about 6% on Friday on a series of tweets by Elon Musk.