Markets end higher | Calamatta Cuschieri

Shares on Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, as a selloff in technology-related stocks eased and a rotation into cyclical shares continued after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments calmed inflation worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 424.51 points, or 1.35%, to 31,961.86, the S&P 500 gained 44.06 points, or 1.14%, to 3,925.43 and the Nasdaq Composite added 132.77 points, or 0.99%, to 13,597.97.

European shares rose on Wednesday as sectors primed to benefit from economic recovery were supported by strong German growth data, although concerns over a possible rise in inflation and lofty equity valuations kept gains in check. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.5% higher, with Germany’s DAX adding 0.8% as data showed bullish exports and solid construction activity helped Europe’s biggest economy to grow by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in the fourth quarter.

Maltese markets meanwhile closed lower with the MSE Equity Total Return Index losing 0.36 percent to 7,901.534 points. Simonds Farsons Cisk Plc led the losses with shares down 2.53 percent at €7.70, followed by Bank of Valletta Plc which lost 1.08 percent to €0.916.

Gamestop bounces back

GameStop Corp shares more than doubled in afternoon trading on Wednesday, surprising those who thought the video game retailer’s stock price would stabilize after a fierce rally and steep dive that upended Wall Street in January. The shares soared nearly 104% during the session in which trading was halted several times, then jumped another 85% after hours.

Other stocks favored by retail traders on sites such as Reddit’s WallStreetBets, also shot higher. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc gained 18%, Koss Corp rallied more than 50% and BlackBerry Corp rose nearly 9%. Shares of Canadian cannabis company Tilray Inc gained nearly 13%.Analysts could not pinpoint one reason for the sharp move. At least one ruled out a short squeeze like that which fired the “Reddit rally” in January when mom-and-pop investors bought GameStop furiously to punish hedge funds that had bet against the retailer.

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