Wall St follows FTSE higher as Reddit attention turns from Gamestop to silver
US markets on Wall Street are all green this afternoon, following the FTSE higher.
The rebound follows turbulence last week surrounding Gamestop and other companies targeted by both short-sellers and a Reddit group called Wall St Bets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72 points, or 0.24 per cent, at the open to 30054. The S&P 500 rose 16 points, or 0.46 per cent, at the open to 3731, while the Nasdaq rose 155 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 13226 at the opening bell.
Silver pushed higher this afternoon, soaring as much as 11.2 per cent to a near eight-year peak as retail investors piled into the metal in a frenzy kicked off on Reddit.
The FTSE 100 is up to 6461 today, up 0.8 per cent, after a volatile week in markets that saw investors spooked thanks to Reddit-driven drama.
The FTSE 250 was just at 20,329, up around 0.5 per cent on the day.
Fresnillo, an Anglo-Mexican precious metals mining company, remains London’s bigger gainer today up 16.5 per cent thanks to the silver rally.
Fellow mining company Polymetal was the second best performer, up 6.9 per cent by 3pm.
Investors were rattled last week by an attack on Wall Street hedge funds by an army of Reddit day traders.
The Reddit day traders acted in response to hedge funds taking out large short positions on GameStop, a physical US video store, and a stock favoured by many on trading forum r/wallstreetbets.
Gamestop shares soared more than 300 per cent in the last week.