Why Is The Stock Market Down Today?
If you’re wondering why the stock market is down today, you’re not alone. Economic data and virus cases are partially to blame, and it has impacted both penny stocks and higher price stocks alike.
Here’s Why The Stock Market Is Down Today
U.S. consumer spending dipped more than expected in July. A lack of buying due to decreased stimulus was cited as a root cause compared to earlier read-outs. We also saw growing concerns over the Delta variant trigger new lockdowns in places like New Zealand.
According to the Commerce Department monthly report, breaking down the numbers, retail sales dipped by 1.1% last month compared to June. Estimates pegged the drop to be just 0.3% in July. Removing autos and gas sales, retail sales were down 0.7%. Compared to expectations of a drop of just 0.1%, you can see where some of the concerns have stemmed from. Comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also had traders’ attention on Tuesday. The Fed Chair explained that the Fed’s “powerful tools” have limits. He also expressed his thought that Covid-19 would say “for a while.”
Some strategists are also positioning for peak earnings growth rate in Q2. In an interview, Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist for Charles Schwab, said, “It’s almost unquestionable for the second-quarter to be peak, not growth, but growth rates.”
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It may not be all doom and gloom, however. Manufacturing and production figures were also released this morning. U.S. production jumped by the most since March last month. A Federal Reserve report showed an increase of 1.4% in July. Economists estimated a rise of just 0.6%. On top of that, industrial production rose 0.9% last month, outperforming Wall Street estimates of a rise of just 0.5%. There are a few hot stocks to watch regardless of the stock market today and major indexes under pressure. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few trending penny stocks today.
Hot Penny Stocks To Watch Right Now
- Alpha Esports Tech Inc. (OTC: APETF) (CSE: ALPA)
- DouYu International Holdings (NASDAQ: DOYU)
- OneConnect Financial Technology Co (NYSE: OCFT)
Alpha Esports Tech Inc. (OTC: APETF) (CSE: ALPA)
We’ve got a mix of penny stocks to watch on this list, but all have a common thread. They’ve all got exposure to different forms of technology. While the broader tech sector may be down today, it hasn’t put a pause to momentum in some names. Alpha Esports is one of them.
The company has been working on expanding its already growing footprint in the esports and entertainment industry. One of the differentiating factors for Alpha is its vertical integration strategy. By not only building upon its own user base but also partnering with recognizable names in esports and entertainment, Alpha is beginning to expand its reach rapidly.
According to Alpha, it has already partnered and/or worked with the likes of The New Jersey Devils, The Vancouver Whitecaps, Barstool Sports, ESPN Radio, Devil Child, Oxygen Esports, Notre Dame, Syracuse University, Penn State, University of British Columbia, University of Rochester, Western Michigan University and others.
What To Watch With Alpha Esports
Late last month, the company continued its expansion plans and inked a deal with Mais, a top Brazilian Esports portal for gamers. Mais provides news about League of Legends, CS:GO, Fortnite, PUBG, Overwatch, R6, and other major Esports titles and tournaments. To Alpha’s benefit, Mais averages 4 million page views per month on its website and has a combined social media following of over 400,000, providing Alpha with access to its audience. Furthermore, Alpha has enhanced its core offerings to appeal to pro gamers and capture data of casual gamers.
This month, the company launched its mobile gaming platform, GamerzArcade. It will offer users with an Alpha Account an opportunity to compete in daily, weekly, and monthly mobile gaming contests for prizes. According to the company, this is a more casual gaming platform run parallel with its online esports platform, GamerzArena. It came just a few weeks after launching GamerzYouth, a program focusing on gaming initiatives for amateur youth gamers. These include esports contests, education, and live events.
With esports quickly emerging during the pandemic as a viable industry for sports and entertainment (not to mention sports betting), Esports penny stocks could be on the watch list. Alpha Esports has taken up the bootstraps & focused on cornering a large userbase to gain market share early.
DouYu International Holdings (NASDAQ: DOYU)
In line with the Esports and entertainment trend, DouYu International has recently started trending this week. The action comes after months of decline in the stock market. However, on August 17th, DOYU stock jumped more than 13% following its latest earnings release.
What To Watch With DouYu
DouYu focuses on live streaming in China. In particular, the company operates a platform allowing users to stream immersive and interactive games. Despite lower sales and revenue for the latest quarter, management seems focused on continued growth. In particular, Shaojie Chen, Chief Executive Officer of DouYu, commented, “Our core operating metric continued to grow at a steady pace in the second quarter of 2021, with our quarterly average mobile MAUs increased by 3.9% year over year to 60.7 million.
Looking ahead, we plan to continue expanding our content ecosystem both upstream and downstream to cover each link of the game industry value chain. We will also bolster our industry leadership through the continuous execution of our live streaming, video, content, and community strategies.”
Read more: Best Penny Stocks to Buy Now? 3 That Traders Are Watching in August
So as the global economy attempts to continue reopening efforts, entertainment will likely play its own role. Thanks to the pandemic, esports has begun to grow as a potential area of interest both for consumers and investors.
OneConnect Financial Technology Co (NYSE: OCFT)
Something to keep in mind is that just because a trend is down, that doesn’t mean things can’t change. Whether or not that becomes the case for OneConnect is to be seen. However, after months of decline, August 17th marked the first real break in the action in weeks. After hitting fresh 52-week lows of $4.06, shares of OCFT stock promptly bounced back to over $4.40.
It’s no secret that Chinese-based companies have gotten their share of pressure in the stock market this year. OCFT is clearly part of this. But a few recent developments may have brought some added attention to the company.
What To Watch With OneConnect
First, OneConnect recently posted its second-quarter results. These showed an increase in revenue of 25% year-over-year, along with a narrower net loss per share. Furthermore, the company also announced that key leadership, including the Chairman and CEO, along with other management team members, plan to purchase up to $10 million worth of the company’s shares during a 3-month period. Management also agreed to lock-up restrictions for at least 6 months.
The company explained that “The proposed share purchase demonstrates the management’s confidence in the fundamental and long-term growth of the Company. After the purchase, the interests of the management will be even more closely aligned with those of the Company’s shareholders.”
Furthermore, the broader trend in Fintech could also shed a brighter light on companies like OneConnect. With its technology-as-a-service platform, the company offers its services directly to financial institutions.
Is The Trend Your Friend?
With the stock market down today, is this the trend to follow for the foreseeable future? Well, looking back at the last 8 months, whenever the market gets shaken, things have seemed to recover shortly after. Though the economic data was initially concerning, a broader reopening and strengthening global economy could support a different stance on the stock market. Needless to say, it’s best to have a go-to strategy and list of stocks to watch no matter the broader market trends.
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