MW UPDATE: GameStop surges back into the public eye as videogame chain's stock jumps 104%
By Weston Blasi
Nearly five times as many GameStop shares changed hands on Wednesday as in a typical session this month
Shares of GameStop $(GME)$ jumped 104% on Wednesday, with trading halted repeatedly because of volatility in the final hour of the session . Nearly 65 million shares changed hands, with volume surging as the closing bell neared, compared with a recent average daily volume of 14.7 million shares.
The freewheeling social platform Reddit cited discussion of the stock as a reason the site was knocked offline late Wednesday.
Late Tuesday, the company had announced the departure of its financial chief .
Some investors were expressing displeasure over the trading pauses.
Stocks popularized on the WallStreetBets Reddit forum have taken the spotlight in 2021. Huge stock-price swings in the likes of the videogame retailer GameStop and AMC $(AMC)$, the cineplex chain, have caused major disruptions in the market.
Jim Cramer, host of the show "Mad Money" on CNBC, commented on the Wednesday gains in GameStop.
The Wednesday trading halts differed from the limitations on buying and selling of this group of securities put in place in late January by brokerages .
Others trafficked in one-liners about GameStop's rise on Twitter.
The GameStop surge attracted tweets from all kinds of investors.
-Weston Blasi; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
$(END)$ Dow Jones Newswires
February 24, 2021 17:24 ET (22:24 GMT)
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