Stock Market

Billionaires dabbling in space travel could lead to more ripple effects in space stocks—and space ETFs.

The benchmark index climbed 0.13% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 210 points, or 0.61%.

Investors turned their focus to another wild surge in GameStop and a handful of other stocks favored by online investors.

The parents of Alex Kearns, 20, say he thought he had lost $730,000 when he took his own life. They are now suing Robinhood Financial, claiming the popular stock-trading platform’s business practices "directly" led to their son’s death.

Robinhood and other online trading platforms moved to restrict trading in GameStop and other stocks that have soared recently due to rabid buying by smaller investors.

Trading volume has surged in shares of GameStop, AMC Entertainment, as well as Bed Bath & Beyond and BlackBerry, stunning Wall Street firms betting that those stocks would fall.

Wall Street professionals were counting on GameStop’s stock price to plunge - but an army of smaller investors rallied on Reddit to beat the pros and support the struggling retail chain.

U.S. stocks are rallying to records Wednesday on encouraging earnings reports and continued optimism that new leadership in Washington will mean more support for the struggling economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded above 30,000 points for the first time on Nov. 24 as investors were encouraged by the latest progress on developing coronavirus vaccines and news that the transition of power in the U.S. to President-elect Joe Biden will finally begin.

The numbers underscore how the coronavirus pandemic is worsening and threatening to drag the economy lower, at least in the near term.

Markets are banking on Tuesday's election leading to split control of Congress, which could mean low tax rates, lighter regulation on businesses and other policies that investors like remain the status quo.

Much of Wednesday's strength for Wall Street was due to big gains for technology stocks. Investors have increasingly seen these stocks as some of the safer bets in the market, able to grow their profits even in a pandemic as more of daily life shifts online.

The stock market had its worst day in a month as virus cases surge and help for the economy from Washington remains nowhere in sight.

U.S. equity futures plunged by more than 1.6%, or 500 Dow points after President Trump confirmed through a tweet that he and the first lady tested positive for coronavirus.