This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55837519

The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
GameStop: Is buying frenzy starting to lose steam? GameStop: Is buying frenzy starting to lose steam?
(about 4 hours later)
The GameStop saga has taken an unexpected twist, with shares down 20% in after hours trade after an investor forum on Reddit closed temporarily. The GameStop saga has taken a twist, with the shares sinking 20% after having soared over the past few days.
The wallstreetbets public forum had fuelled massive gains in the US games retailer, along with a number of other companies. A forum on the social media site Reddit called wallstreetbets had fuelled massive gains in the US games retailer, along with a number of other companies.
But the shares fell sharply after the forum temporarily turned invitation-only. But GameStop shares fell sharply overnight, dividing opinion over whether the buying frenzy had run out of steam or was just a temporary pause.
The trading frenzy has spread globally and has led to a White House alert. Regulators are monitoring trading amid fears of illegal market manipulation.
GameStop has been the main focus of attention of traders having seen its share price soar more than 300% in the past week. Experts say it is the result of a fight between private and professional investors. GameStop has been the main focus of attention of traders after having seen its share price soar more than 700% since last week. Experts say it is the result of a fight between private and professional investors.
After some frenetic trading activity, Reddit moderators closed the wallstreetbets forum to make adjustments after it was blocked on chat app Discord due to obscene content.After some frenetic trading activity, Reddit moderators closed the wallstreetbets forum to make adjustments after it was blocked on chat app Discord due to obscene content.
'Failing' firm soars in value as amateurs buy stock'Failing' firm soars in value as amateurs buy stock
Victims typically lose £45,000 in investment scamsVictims typically lose £45,000 in investment scams
'Wealthiest 10 men could pay for vaccines for all''Wealthiest 10 men could pay for vaccines for all'
“We blocked all bad words with a bot, which should be enough, but apparently if someone can say a bad word with weird unicode icelandic characters and someone can screenshot it you don't get to hang out with your friends anymore,” read a message from the group’s moderators after wallstreetbets reopened.“We blocked all bad words with a bot, which should be enough, but apparently if someone can say a bad word with weird unicode icelandic characters and someone can screenshot it you don't get to hang out with your friends anymore,” read a message from the group’s moderators after wallstreetbets reopened.
Discord said its decision to block the forum had nothing to do with its apparent impact on share prices. Why are GameStop shares surging?
Shares of Gamestop, AMC Entertainment, Koss Corp and BlackBerry all dropped at least 20% moments after the forum was closed, although the companies recovered some of their losses when the forum reopened about an hour later. Key to what's going on is "short selling" or "shorting", where a big investment company such as a hedge fund tries to make money by betting a company's share price will fall.
Even with the pause, GameStop shares were selling at $292, compared with less than $20 just a few weeks earlier. The hedge fund borrows shares in a company from other investors and sells the shares on the markets at, for example, $10 each, waits until they fall to $5, and buys them back. The borrowed shares are returned to the original owner, and the hedge fund pockets a profit.
The fall highlighted the role the forum has played in fuelling stock rallies of several hundred percent that experts say have been driven primarily by private investors. GameStop - which saw heavy losses last year and has been described as "failing" by one big investor - is the most shorted stock on Wall Street. Some 30% of its shares are thought to be in the hands of hedge fund borrowers.
But in the last week, the amateur investors who follow wallstreetbets have poured money into buying the company's stock with the aim of pushing up the price.
If the price rises dramatically, short sellers face big losses and they need to buy back the shares they have borrowed quickly to prevent bigger losses - a process known as covering.
However, buying back the shares only adds to demand for the stock and pushes its price higher still.
Is GameStop the only company targeted?
The amateurs are now targeting other companies that have been heavily shorted by hedge funds, including AMC Entertainment, Koss Corp and BlackBerry. All have seen their share prices spike, only to fall back overnight.
In the UK, shares in Pearson and Cineworld rose on Wednesday amid speculation they could be next in line from Reddit's army of day traders. However, shares in both companies fell in early trading on Thursday.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a tiny West Australian mining company saw a 50% surge in its share price, most likely due to its Australian stock exchange (ASX) code matching that of the American video game retailer.
However, some traders have made a lot of money. Even with the overnight fall, GameStop shares were selling at $292, compared with less than $20 just a few weeks earlier.
Day traders beat the pros
The massive GameStop share surge appears to be less about the company - which is a loss-making bricks and mortar gaming retailer - and more about a fight between Wall Street fund managers and individual investors organising online.The massive GameStop share surge appears to be less about the company - which is a loss-making bricks and mortar gaming retailer - and more about a fight between Wall Street fund managers and individual investors organising online.
Despite the economy shrinking, US stocks have ralliedDespite the economy shrinking, US stocks have rallied
Short squeeze Analyst Neil Wilson says that from reading the Reddit chat threads, the day traders' battle with Wall Street is clearly personal.
Many Wall Street funds had taken short positions on the business, effectively seeking to profit on its share price falling. "Among the many aspects of this story that are strange, what is so unusual is the peculiar vigilante morality of the traders pumping the stock. They seem hell-bent on taking on Wall Street, they seem to hate hedge funds and threads are peppered with insults about 'boomer' money.
The wallstreetbets followers responded with a “short squeeze”, which involves pouring money into the company with the aim of pushing up the price. "It's a generational fight, redistributive and all about robbing the rich to give to the millennial 'poor'."
If the price rises dramatically, short sellers incur losses and then need to cover their initial bets to avoid steeper losses. Technology investor Chamath Palihapitiya told CNBC: "We are moving to a world where ordinary folk have the same access as professionals and can come to the same conclusion or maybe the opposite.
A number of funds sold off share positions to pay for losses from shorting GameStop, contributing to a slide of more than 2% in Wall Street’s main indexes. "The solution is more transparency on the institutional side, not less access for retail."
Several platforms, including TD Ameritrade, Robinhood and E*Trade experienced outages as the number of retail trades soared amid interest in previously forgotten shares. Regulators are watching
Ameritrade announced it will place “several restrictions” on GameStop and a number of other securities “out of an abundance of caution amid unprecedented market conditions and other factors".
The sudden surge of activity has led to some unusual activity elsewhere.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a tiny West Australian mining company saw a 50% surge in its share price, most likely due to its Australian stock exchange (ASX) code matching that of the American video game retailer.
Regulators watching
The GameStop issue has also caught the attention of the White House and other officials.The GameStop issue has also caught the attention of the White House and other officials.
Press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden’s economic team, including newly-appointed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, was “monitoring the situation.”Press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden’s economic team, including newly-appointed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, was “monitoring the situation.”
US stock exchange Nasdaq's chief executive Adena Friedman said exchanges and regulators should watch whether anonymous social media posts could be driving "pump and dump" schemes.US stock exchange Nasdaq's chief executive Adena Friedman said exchanges and regulators should watch whether anonymous social media posts could be driving "pump and dump" schemes.
"If we see a significant rise in the chatter on social media ... and we also match that up against unusual trading activity, we will potentially halt that stock to allow ourselves to investigate the situation," Friedman said on CNBC. "If we see a significant rise in the chatter on social media... and we also match that up against unusual trading activity, we will potentially halt that stock to allow ourselves to investigate the situation," Ms Friedman said on CNBC.
Jacob Frenkel, a former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the main US financial regulator, said: "Such volatile trading fuelled by opinions where there appears to be little corporate activity to justify the price movement is exactly what SEC investigations are made of."
The share trading has, so far, been confined minor companies and has created no volatility in the wider financial markets.
However, several share trading platforms, including TD Ameritrade, Robinhood and E*Trade experienced outages as the number of retail trades soared amid interest in previously forgotten shares.
Ameritrade announced it would place “several restrictions” on GameStop and a number of other securities “out of an abundance of caution amid unprecedented market conditions and other factors".
Massachusetts state regulator William Galvin called on the New York Stock Exchange to suspend GameStop for 30 days to allow a cooling-off period. "This isn't investing, this is gambling," he said in an interview. "This is obviously contrived."