Dow Ends Ugly Session Lower, GameStop Surges

Wall Street stocks concluded a bad week with another volatile session on Friday as the buying frenzy over GameStop and some other equities resumed amid stepped-up scrutiny from regulators.

The Dow Jones ended down 2.0 percent at 29,982.

The S&P 500 fell 1.9 percent to 3,714, while the Nasdaq tumbled 2.0 percent to 13,070.

Analysts said there were factors besides the drama around GameStop in the pullback on Friday and earlier in the week.

These include concerns over lofty equity valuations given the economic weakness caused by Covid-19. Investors are also worried US fiscal stimulus may lag market expectations after President Joe Biden's US$1.9 trillion package garnered a sceptical reception in Congress.

But much of the focus landed on questions over GameStop, which soared nearly 70 percent after Robinhood and other trading platforms lifted restrictions on trading the equities.

Shares of GameStop, AMC Entertainment and others have been on a tear much of the week as investors organised over Reddit targeted the equities to combat hedge fund short-sellers who were betting on lower prices.

"This is all a de-risking event by hedge funds, because of the loss that they have taken from the stocks like GameStop," said Karl Haeling of LBBW.

"These hedge funds are facing billions of dollars of losses and they had to go and sell stocks where they had profits and long positions. They have to sell them off to cover their losses."

Among other companies, Johnson & Johnson fell 3.6 percent after announcing its Covid-19 vaccine has an overall efficacy of 66 percent, with 85 percent effectiveness in preventing severe Covid-19 across all geographical regions, but only 57 percent success rate in combatting a variant discovered in South Africa.

The J&J vaccine has been eagerly anticipated because it requires only one shot, in contrast to other options now on the market.

Chevron fell 4.3 percent after reporting a US$665 million fourth-quarter loss, taking its annual loss to US$5.5 billion amid a big drop in oil prices. (AFP)