Stocks closed Wednesday's session lower as the market continued to struggle to rise as benchmarks remained near record highs. The Dow marked its third straight session in a row, while declines in Industrials (NYSE: XLI) and Financials (NYSE: XLF) pulled the S&P 500 and broader market lower.
"Meme" stock mania continued to dominate trading on Wednesday, with retail investors chatting on online forums like Reddit's r/WallStreetBets looking for new targets for potential short squeezes. Both Geo Group (NYSE: GEO), a company that owns and manages private prisons, and Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE), a natural gas provider, saw shares soar over 30%.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.18% or -7.69 points to 4,219.57
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.44% or -152.68 points to 34,447.14
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -0.09% or -13.16 points to 13,911.75
Biden revokes and replaces Trump-era executive orders on Chinese social media apps:
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that establishes criteria for the government to evaluate the risk of apps connected to foreign nations. In doing so, Biden revoked and replaced the three executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump that sought to ban transactions between companies like ByteDance's TikTok and Tencent's (OTC: TCEHY) WeChat.
Under Biden's new order, the Commerce Departed will review apps tied to foreign adversaries and look for what the White House calls an "unacceptable risk." These types of risks include apps that are owned, controlled or managed by people supporting foreign adversary military or intelligence groups, or when an app collects sensitive personal data.
The order also directs the Commerce Department to work with other agencies to find solutions and recommendations to protect U.S. consumer data and inform the Biden administration of further executive actions it can take to lessen these risks.
El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender:
El Salvador has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender on Wednesday. Lawmakers in the Salvadoran Congress voted by a "supermajority" in favor of the Bitcoin Law, according to President Nayib Bukele in a tweet, receiving 62 out of 84 of the legislature's vote.
"The purpose of this law is to regulate bitcoin as unrestricted legal tender with liberating power, unlimited in any transaction, and to any title that public or private natural or legal persons require carrying out," the law reads.
Prices in the country can now by shown in bitcoin, while tax contributions can be paid in the crypto and exchanges will not be subject to capital gains tax.
Here's how the market stood shortly after open:
S&P 500 Index: +0.17% or +7.02 points to 4,234.28
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.10% or +35.26 points to 34,635.08
Nasdaq Composite Index: 0.29% or +40.12 points to 13,965.03