Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average closed at record highs on Wednesday, but the index gains were modest. The Nasdaq closed down slightly and was trading up enough in Thursday’s premarket to repair the damage. The S&P and the Dow also traded up slightly. Premarket volume was thin, and the morning offered little market-moving news. A typical Santa Claus rally, in other words.
Crude oil traded slightly lower in Thursday’s premarket session at around $76.20 a barrel, while Bitcoin traded at around $47,500, up about 0.5% from its close on Wednesday. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down about two basis points, and two-year yields were essentially flat. The spread tightened slightly, from 0.80% late Wednesday to 0.78% early in the morning.
Companies on our meme stock watch list closed lower by a wide margin on Wednesday. The exception was Naked Brand Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKD), which added about 14.5% to close at $5.74. Last week, the company said it planned to close its deal to acquire electric vehicle maker Cenntro and complete a reverse stock split by the end of 2021. That gives the company little time, so retail investors have been enthusiastic buyers of the stock, with some believing that short sellers are piling in and will be forced to cover.
According to Fintel data, just 30,000 Naked Brand shares were available to short Thursday morning and the borrow fee was about 7.8%. The stock traded up by more than 10% at one point in the morning but dropped back to a gain of around 8%.
Shares of GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) added more than 5% on Wednesday and traded down by less than 1% in Thursday’s premarket. The company had no specific news. Earlier this week, we took a look at GameStop’s prospects for 2022. A repeat of January’s spike is unlikely.
China’s version of Uber, DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI), dropped more than 8% on Wednesday and traded down more than 4% in Thursday’s premarket. The company has announced preliminary financial results for the June and September quarters. DiDi posted a loss of $4.7 billion in the September quarter, following a government crackdown on companies that list on foreign stock exchanges.
DiDi got special attention from the government following its June IPO, including an investigation into charges that the company had violated privacy and national security laws by going public. The company has taken the first steps to delist its U.S.-traded shares and move its listing to Hong Kong.
EV battery maker Microvast Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MVST) dropped by nearly 9% on Wednesday on no specific news. The shares traded up about 1.6% in Thursday’s premarket at $5.62.
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