SEC warns of ‘extreme market volatility,’ will review activity as GameStop stock, Robinhood drama continues

Nathan Bomey

| USA TODAY
Robinhood blocks purchases of GameStop, AMC and othersAfter days of rallies fueled by Redditors, investment app Robinhood has restricted
the trading of several highly-volatile stocks.Wibbitz – Technology, Wibbitz – TechnologyWith a fight raging in the markets between amateur and Wall Street investors over stocks like GameStop and AMC, U.S. regulators warned Friday of “extreme stock price volatility” and said will review any actions that “disadvantage” investors.The Securities and Exchange Commission said it’s “closely monitoring and evaluating” the situation and “will work to protect investors” and fair markets.That agency said it would root out “abusive or manipulative trading activity” and “closely review actions” that could hurt investors, including any moves to “unduly inhibit their ability to trade certain securities.”The statement comes a day after several brokerages, including notably the popular retail investment app Robinhood, temporarily blocked investors from buying stocks like GameStop and AMC.You want a revolution, Redditors?: What’s your plan when GameStop collapses?A fight is raging in the stock market: Should you worry about your 401(k)?Robinhood’s move came amid astonishing increases in stock prices of the share prices of companies that had until recently been struggling. Many of them were the targets of hedge funds that bet against the stocks by shorting them.Those maneuvers attracted the ire of investors who rallied on the message board Reddit to drive up stock prices in a bid to cause enormous losses for hedge fund managers.It’s been a dizzying few weeks for GameStop, in particular. All the wild action pushed GameStop shares as high as $483 this week, up from $18 just a few weeks ago. It was up 198% for the week heading into Friday.Contributing: Jessica MentonFollow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

Source link