Stocks rose on Wall Street Friday and closed higher for the week, breaking a seven-week losing streak, the longest such stretch since 2001.

The S&P 500 rose 2.5%, increasing its gain for the week to 6.6%. That's the biggest weekly gain for the benchmark index since November 2020. Technology stocks were a big factor pushing the market higher. That sent the Nasdaq composite up 3.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8%. Retailers also made solid gains.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which helps set mortgage rates, slipped to 2.74%. U.S. crude oil prices rose.

Retailers were among the biggest gainers on Friday as investors continued reviewing the latest round of earnings to get a better sense of just how much pain rising inflation is inflicting on businesses and consumers. Beauty products company Ulta Beauty surged 12.5% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after raising its profit forecast for the year. Amazon rose 3.7%, the Associated Press reported.

Stocks fell broadly in afternoon trading on Wall Street Tuesday, extending a slump for the major indexes as investors continue to worry about the state of the economy.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% as of 12:01 p.m. Eastern. More than 85% of stocks in the benchmark index fell in the weak opening following a long weekend for the Independence Day holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 562 points, or 1.8%, to 30,532 and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%.

Small-company stocks also fell. The Russell 2000 shed 1.2%.

Energy companies had some of the biggest losses as U.S. oil prices fell 8.1%. Exxon Mobil shed 4%.

Banks also fell significantly, along with bond yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set mortgage rates, fell to 2.79% from 2.90% late Friday. JPMorgan Chase fell 2.3%.

European markets were also lower.

Stocks remain in a slump that pulled the S&P 500 into a bear market last month, meaning an extended decline of 20% or more from a recent peak. The market's performance in the first half of 2022 was the worst since the first six months of 1970.

Inflation has been squeezing businesses and consumers throughout the year, but tightened its grip after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The invasion sent oil prices higher globally and sent gasoline prices in the U.S. to record highs. That prompted a pullback in spending from consumers struggling with higher prices on everything from food to clothing.

Lockdowns in China from rising COVID-19 cases have also made supply chain problems worse.

Central banks have been raising interest rates in an attempt to temper inflation. The Federal Reserve has been aggressive in its shift from historically low-interest rates at the height of the pandemic to unusually big rate increases. But, that has raised concerns that the central bank could go too far in raising rates and hitting the brakes too hard on economic growth, which could bring on a recession.

Wall Street has been closely watching the latest economic updates for more clues on how inflation is impacting the economy and whether that could shift the Fed's position on rate hikes. Wall Street will get a closer look at the employment market on Friday when the government releases employment data for June.

Investors are also looking ahead to the next round of corporate earnings for a clearer picture of inflation's impact. Several big companies recently warned that their financial results are being squeezed by inflation, including spice and seasonings maker McCormick.

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Wall Street capped a choppy day of trading with a mixed finish for stock indexes Monday, as investors brace for another sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this week as the central bank combats inflation.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% after fluctuating between gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4%.

Smaller company stocks fared better than the broader market, sending the Russell 2000 0.6% higher.

The major indexes are coming off solid gains last week following a mix of mostly better-than-expected reports on corporate profits. Falling yields in the bond market also helped, easing the pressure on stocks after expectations for rate hikes by the Fed sent yields soaring much of this year.

On Wednesday, most economists expect the Fed to announce a three-quarter percentage point hike in its short-term rate, a second consecutive hefty increase that it hasn't otherwise implemented since 1994. It would put the Fed's benchmark rate in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, the highest since 2018.

Wall Street will closely watch a news conference by Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday to get a sense of policymakers' next steps.

"The only question is will Powell sound a little less hawkish in his press conference, which could allow the market to continue to breathe a sigh of relief," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

The U.S. economy is slowing, but healthy hiring shows it isn't yet in recession, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." She spoke ahead of a slew of economic reports due this week that will shed light on an economy currently besieged by rampant inflation.

Since the Fed last met in June, the government has reported that inflation accelerated to a 9.1% annual rate, the most since 1981.

Still, some early signs suggest that inflation may be cooling from red-hot levels. Auto club AAA said on its website as of Monday that the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $4.36 per gallon. That's down 16 cents from a week ago, and 55 cents cheaper than late June, when the average price was $4.91 per gallon. Crude oil prices have fallen nearly 10% this month alone.

Even so, elevated inflation is increasingly prompting consumers to reprioritize their spending.

Walmart's shares fell nearly 10% in after-hours trading Monday after the retail giant lowered its profit outlook for the second quarter and full year. The company blamed surging inflation on basics like food that are forcing shoppers to cut back on discretionary items, particularly clothing, that carry higher profit margins.

Outside of the Fed meeting, the week's highest-profile report will likely be Thursday, when the Commerce Department releases its first estimate of the economy's output in the April-June quarter. Some economists forecast it may show a contraction for the second quarter in a row. The economy shrank 1.6% in the January-March quarter. Two straight negative readings is informally considered a recession.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 5.21 points to close at 3,966.84 Monday. The Dow gained 90.75 points to 31,990.04, and the Nasdaq fell 51.45 points to 11,782.67. The Russell 2000 added 10.89 points to 1,817.77.

Energy companies, banks and health care stocks helped lift the market Monday. Exxon Mobil rose 3.3% and Bank of America added 0.9%. UnitedHealth Group gained 1.5%.

Losses by technology and communications stocks kept indexes' gains in check. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 1.7% and Meta closed 1.6% lower.

Restaurant chains, retailers and other companies that rely on direct consumer spending also fell. Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants dropped 2.1%, while Dollar Tree fell 2.1%.

World Wrestling Entertainment jumped 8.4% after CEO Vince McMahon retired Friday amid an investigation into alleged misconduct.

Weber slumped 12.6% after the Illinois-based grill maker announced the departure of CEO Chris Scherzinger. It also pulled its 2022 forecast and suspended its dividend.

Newmont slid 13.2% for the biggest decline in the S&P 500 after the gold miner's second-quarter earnings fell sharply from a year earlier amid higher costs and weaker gold prices.

Bond yields rose. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to move with expectations for the Fed, rose to 3.04% from 2.97% late Friday. The 10-year yield, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 2.81% from 2.78%.

Earnings were mostly quiet, but pick up later this week when technology heavyweights like Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon all report their results. Other big companies reporting this week include Coca-Cola and McDonald's, where investors may look to see the impact of inflation on these inflation-conscious, consumer-facing companies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With inflation raging near its highest level in four decades, Congress is poised to approve President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act. Its title raises a tantalizing question: Will the measure actually tame the price spikes that have inflicted hardships on American households?

Economic analyses of the proposal suggest that the answer is likely no — not anytime soon, anyway.

The legislation, which is headed for final approval Friday in the House and will then be signed into law, won't directly address some of the main drivers of surging prices — from gas and food to rents and restaurant meals.

Still, the bill could save money for some Americans by lessening the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly, extending health insurance subsidies and reducing energy prices. It would also modestly cut the government's budget deficit, which might slightly lower inflation by the end of this decade.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded last week that the changes would have a "negligible" impact on inflation this year and next. And the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Wharton Budget Model concluded that, over the next decade, "the impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero."

Such forecasts also undercut the arguments that some Republicans, such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have made, that the bill would "cause inflation," as McCarthy said in a speech on the House floor last month.

Biden himself, in speaking of the legislation's effect on inflation, has cautiously referred to potentially lower prices in individual categories rather than to lower inflation as a whole. This week, the president said the bill would "bring down the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance premiums and energy costs."

At the same time, the White House has trumpeted a letter signed by more than 120 economists, including several Novel Prize winners and former Treasury secretaries, that asserts that the bill's reduction in the government's budget deficit — by an estimated $300 billion over the next decade, according to the CBO — would put "downward pressure on inflation."

In theory, lower deficits can reduce inflation. That's because lower government spending or higher taxes, which help shrink the deficit, reduce demand in the economy, thereby easing pressure on companies to raise prices.

Jason Furman, a Harvard economist who served as a top economic adviser in the Obama administration, wrote in an opinion column for The Wall Street Journal: "Deficit reduction is almost always inflation-reducing."

Yet Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was a top economic adviser to President George W. Bush and later a director of the CBO, noted that the lower deficits won't kick in until five years from now and won't be very large over the next decade considering the size of the economy.

"$30 billion a year in a $21 trillion economy isn't going to move the needle," Holtz-Eakin said, referring to the estimated amount of deficit reduction spread over 10 years.

He also noted that Congress has recently passed other legislation to subsidize semiconductor production in the U.S. and expand veterans' health care, and suggested that those laws will spend more than the Inflation Reduction Act will save.

In addition, Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said the bill's health care subsidies could send inflation up. The legislation would spend $70 billion over a decade to extend tax credits to help 13 million Americans pay for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Those subsidies would free up money for recipients to spend elsewhere, potentially increasing inflation, although Smetters said he thought the effect would likely be very small.

While the bill could have the benefit of increasing the savings of millions of households on pharmaceutical and energy costs, it's unlikely to have much effect on overall inflation. Prescription drugs account for only 1% of the spending in the U.S. consumer price index; spending on electricity and natural gas makes up just 3.6%.

Starting in 2025, the act will cap the amount Medicare recipients would pay for their prescription drugs at $2,000 a year. It will authorize Medicare to negotiate the cost of some high-priced pharmaceuticals — a long-sought goal that President Donald Trump had also floated. It would also limit Medicare recipients' out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 a month. Insulin prescriptions averaged $54 in 2020, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"This is a historic change," said Leigh Purvis, director of health care costs at the AARP Public Policy Institute. "This is allowing Medicare to protect beneficiaries from high drug prices in a way that was not there before."

A study by Kaiser found that in 2019, 1.2 million Medicare recipients spent an average of $3,216 on drug prescriptions. Purvis said recipients who use the most expensive drugs can spend as much as $10,000 or $15,000 a year.

The legislation authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices of 10 expensive pharmaceuticals, starting next year, though the results won't take effect until 2026. Up to 60 drugs could be subject to negotiation by 2029.

Holtz-Eakin argued that while the provision may lower the cost of some Medicare drugs, it would discourage the development of new drugs or reduce new venture capital investment in start-up pharmaceutical companies.

The Inflation Reduction Act's energy provisions could also create savings, though the amounts are likely to be much smaller.

The bill will provide a $7,500 tax credit for new purchases of electric vehicles, though most EVs won't qualify because the legislation requires them to include batteries with U.S. materials.

And the legislation also significantly expands a tax credit for homeowners who invest in energy-efficient equipment, from a one-time $500 credit to $1,200 that a homeowner could claim each year. Vincent Barnes, senior vice president for policy at the Alliance to Save Energy, said this would allow homeowners to make new energy-efficient investments over several years.

But for all Americans, including those who aren't homeowners, the impact will likely be limited. The Rhodium Group estimates that by 2030 the bill's provisions will save households an average of up to $112 a year as gas and electricity becomes cheaper as more Americans drive EVs and houses become more energy- efficient.

Markets sold off worldwide on mounting signs the global economy is weakening just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional hikes to interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its lowest point of the year Friday. The S&P 500 fell 1.7%, close to its 2022 low. Energy prices also closed sharply lower as traders worried about a possible recession—Treasury yields, which affect rates on mortgages and other kinds of loans, held at multiyear highs. U.K. government bond yields snapped higher after that country's new government announced a sweeping plan of tax cuts.

Stocks tumbled worldwide Friday on more signs the global economy is weakening, just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional interest rate hikes.

The S&P 500 fell 2% in afternoon trading, adding a dismal cap on what's already been a rough week. It's close to its low point of the year in mid-June.

European stocks fell just as sharply or more after preliminary data there suggested business activity had its worst monthly contraction since the start of 2021. Adding to the pressure was a new plan announced in London to cut taxes, which sent U.K. yields soaring because it could ultimately force its central bank to raise rates even more sharply.

The Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world aggressively hiked interest rates this week to undercut high inflation, with more big increases promised for the future. But such moves also brake their economies, threatening recessions as growth slows worldwide. Besides Friday's discouraging data on European business activity, a separate report suggested U.S. activity is also still shrinking, though not quite as bad as in earlier months.

"Financial markets are now fully absorbing the Fed's harsh message that there will be no retreat from the inflation fight," Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research report.

Crude oil prices tumbled to their lowest levels since early this year on worries that a weaker global economy will burn less fuel. Cryptocurrency prices also fell sharply because higher interest rates tend to hit hardest the investments that look the priciest or the riskiest.

Even gold fell in the worldwide rout, as bonds paying higher yields make investments that pay no interest look less attractive. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has been moving sharply higher against other currencies. That can hurt profits for U.S. companies with lots of overseas business, as well as put a financial squeeze on much of the developing world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 505 points, or 1.7%, to 29,572 and the Nasdaq fell 1.9% as of 3:43 p.m. Eastern. Smaller company stocks did even worse. The Russell 2000 fell 3%. U.S. crude oil prices slid 5.7% and weighed heavily on energy stocks.

More than 90% of stocks in the S&P 500 were in the red, with technology companies, retailers and banks among the biggest weights on the benchmark index. The major indexes are on pace for their fifth weekly loss in six weeks.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lifted its benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 3% to 3.25%. It was at virtually zero at the start of the year. The Fed also released a forecast suggesting its benchmark rate could be 4.4% by the year's end, a full point higher than envisioned in June.

Treasury yields have climbed to multiyear highs as interest rates rise. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which tends to follow expectations for Federal Reserve action, rose to 4.19% from 4.12% late Thursday. It is trading at its highest level since 2007. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, slipped to 3.68% from 3.71%.

The higher rates mean Goldman Sachs strategists say most of their clients now see a "hard landing" that pulls the economy sharply lower as inevitable. The question for them is just on the timing, magnitude and length of a potential recession.

Higher interest rates hurt all kinds of investments, but stocks could stay steady as long as corporate profits grow strongly. The problem is that many analysts are beginning to cut their forecasts for upcoming earnings because of higher rates and worries about a possible recession.

"Increasingly, market psychology has transitioned from concerns over inflation to worries that, at a minimum, corporate profits will decline as economic growth slows demand," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.

In the U.S., the jobs market has remained remarkably solid, and many analysts think the economy grew in the summer quarter after shrinking in the first six months of the year. But the encouraging signs also suggest the Fed may have to jack rates even higher to get the cooling needed to bring down inflation.

Some key areas of the economy are already weakening. Mortgage rates have reached 14-year highs, causing sales of existing homes to drop 20% in the past year. But other areas that do best when rates are low are also hurting.

In Europe, meanwhile, the already fragile economy is dealing with the effects of war on its eastern front following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The European Central Bank is hiking its key interest rate to combat inflation even as the region's economy is already expected to plunge into a recession. And in Asia, China's economy is contending with still-strict measures meant to limit COVID infections that also hurt businesses.

While Friday's economic reports were discouraging, few on Wall Street saw them as enough to convince the Fed and other central banks to soften their stance on raising rates. So they just reinforced the fear that rates will keep rising in the face of already slowing economies.

——

Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber and Business Writers Joe McDonald and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Friday marked the end of the week and month on Wall Street, closing out with losses across the board.

September finished on a miserable note for stocks with a loss of 9.3%, which makes it the worst monthly decline since March 2020.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% on Friday and is at its lowest level in almost two years.

The benchmark index has lost ground for six of the last seven weeks and posted its third straight losing quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.7%, and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%.

Nike fell sharply after the company had to slash prices to clear inventories, while Carnival dropped following weaker-than-expected quarterly results.

Bond markets were showing calmer as yields relaxed.

The root cause of markets struggling is fear, as people worry about a possible recession and interest rates soaring in hopes of beating down the high inflation that's swept the world.

Stocks edged higher in morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday as investors count down to the end of the worst year for the S&P 500 since 2008.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 10:12 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points, or less than 0.1%, to 33,257 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%.

Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, slipped to 3.84% from 3.85% Tuesday.

Investors are in the middle of a mostly quiet and holiday-shortened week. Markets were closed on Monday for the observed Christmas holiday and there are no major economic reports expected this week.

Stocks were mostly restrained. Health care and technology companies had some of the broadest gains. Eli Lilly rose 0.5% and Microsoft rose 0.8%.

Tesla rose 2.3% as it rebounded from steep losses it suffered after reports Tuesday that it temporarily suspended production at a factory in Shanghai.

U.S. crude oil prices fell 1.8% and weighed down energy stocks. Hess fell 2%.

Southwest Airlines shed 2.5% as the carrier's dramatic trouble with flight cancellations continued.

The Chinese government announced late Tuesday that it will start issuing new passports, a major step away from anti-virus travel barriers that likely will bring a flood of tourists out of China for next month’s Lunar New Year holiday. China has already said it will drop most of its COVID-19 travel restrictions next month.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.6%, while the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.3%.

Markets in Europe were mixed.

Wall Street remains on edge and will likely continue dealing with volatile trading as the Federal Reserve continues its fight against stubbornly hot inflation. The Fed and other central banks have been raising interest rates to stifle borrowing and slow spending in order to tame inflation. The strategy, though, risks slowing the economy too much and bringing on a recession.

The Fed has already raised its key interest rate seven times this year and is expected to continue raising rates in 2023.

Stocks fell in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday as major indexes head for their second weekly loss in a row after another bout of turbulence shook markets.

The S&P 500 fell 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%. Investors have been watching the latest developments in Ukraine, where Russia has been amassing troops on the border, as well as more corporate earnings reports.

This week investors also received the latest confirmation from the Federal Reserve that it intends to move decisively to fight inflation with higher interest rates.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the U.S expects an attack from Russia on Ukraine in the coming days. And Joe Biden reportedly is expected to move more U.S. troops to the region.

As CNBC reported, Friday was a volatile day for the markets for a number of reasons, including a warning that trillions of dollars in ETFs, indexes, options and futures were set to expire.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard has warned that without aggressive action, inflation could get out of control if there are not rate hikes, CNBC reported on Thursday.

Stocks tumbled again Friday and this time bond yields joined in the swoon as worries about an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine piled onto Wall Street's already heavy list of concerns about inflation and interest rates.

The S&P 500 lost 1.9% after the White House encouraged all U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine within the next 48 hours, before possible military action by Russia. Similar, knee-jerk swings swept through other markets as investors pulled money out of riskier things like stocks and moved instead toward the safety of bonds and gold. The price of oil rose more than 3%.

Tensions have been in the air for a while about military action by Russia, and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that the United States did not have clear information that the Russian President ordered an invasion. Sullivan said, “the threat is now immediate enough that prudence demands that it is the time to leave now” for Americans in Ukraine.

As Yahoo!Finance reported, a surge in prices which shot up 7.5% pushed calls for the Federal Reserve to increase interesting rates aggressively to try and curb liquidity in the market.

David Spika, the president of GuideStone Capital Management said, "The Fed realizes they have to start moving...Consumers are getting killed with this inflation. The Fed has to move and has to move quickly if they want to rein this in."

Tuesday stocks fell as volatile trading on Wall Street continued after markets went swinging from steep losses to gains.

European stocks were higher after a day of steep losses in Asia. Markets are waiting to hear from U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell after a two-day policy meeting.

Other factors adding to uncertainty are the possibility of conflict between Russia and Ukraine and concern over coronavirus outbreaks. Japan has expanded the number of areas observing special precautions to slow the spread of infections as the omicron variant of coronavirus surges.

On Monday, a late buying spree pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index to a 0.3% gain after pulling it out of so-called correction territory. It was a drop of 10% or more from its recent high.

U.S. stocks changed rapidly as fears of inflation persisted. Investors fearing a tightening by the Fed saw stocks trying to claw "their way back from a massive Monday liquidation," as Edward Moya, senior market analyst of the Americas at Oanda told CNN Business.

The swings are coming as traders try to assess how a stubborn resurgence of inflation will affect the economy and how well the Federal Reserve will succeed in fighting it by pulling back its stimulus policies and raising interest rates.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS & SCRIPPS NATIONAL — A tumultuous week of trading ended with stocks falling again on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 1.9%, and notched its worst weekly performance since March 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% and the Nasdaq lost 2.7%.

This week alone, the Nasdaq suffered a 7.6% loss. According to CNBC, the Nasdaq is off to its worst start to a year since 2008.

Technology and communications stocks fell Friday. Netflix plunged over 20% after the streaming service delivered another quarter of disappointing subscriber growth.

Inflation fears and concerns about the impact of higher interest rates have prompted a cautious shift in the broader market after a solid year of gains in 2021.

Video: Jim Cramer says wallstreetbets, Reddit has altered market psychology

The meteoric rise in GameStop's stock, as traders congregating on Reddit and Discord take on short sellers and hedge funds, is hard to look away from. It's the closest thing Wall Street has to David vs. Goliath.

An army of smaller-pocketed, optimistic investors threw dollars and buy orders at the stock of GameStop — in direct opposition to a group of wealthy investors who are counting on the stock price to plunge.

What's happening: Shares of GameStop, a legacy company whose stores are often located in struggling malls, have soared dramatically over the past two sessions as day traders push the stock with growing fervor.

Investors have been betting that GameStop's stock will fall. They “shorted” the stock, essentially thinking shares would tank. But such bets have been disastrous recently.

Meanwhile, a cavalcade of smaller investors has been exhorting each other on the internet to keep the stock's momentum flying toward the moon. Many are pitching it as a battle of regular people versus hedge funds and big Wall Street firms.

The stock, which closed out 2020 at $18.84 per share, finished the day at $76.79 after trading was halted multiple times due to volatility. At one point, it climbed to nearly $160, a record high.

You read that correctly. GameStop, which is expected to lose money this year and next, has more than quadrupled in value in under a month because it's effectively become a meme stock. Since the beginning of 2020, it's jumped more than 1,100%, outpacing even Tesla's gains. Shares are up another 20% in premarket trading.

Investors on social media had been arguing that GameStop was seriously undervalued and cheered earlier this month when the company added Chewy founder Ryan Cohen, who has been pushing a digital overhaul, to its board. Now, the focus is on momentum, as small investors hope the hype can help the stock keep rising.

It's evident, however, that the saga has grown into much more than an argument over the future of a video game retailer, or the merits of different trading approaches. As no-fee apps like Robinhood democratize access to financial markets, some are reading it as a generational fight between the old and new guard of the investing world.

Users on Reddit cheered when veteran short seller Citron Research said it would stop commenting on the stock, citing harassment from GameStop's backers. Melvin Capital Management, which bet against GameStop's rise, has had to accept an infusion of cash after suffering steep losses, the Wall Street Journal reports.

"As someone who started trading stocks in the late '90s in college, I would always remember watching when the small retail trading groups would get crushed by hedge funds and savvy short-sellers," Oanda analyst Edward Moya said in a note to clients this week. "What happened with GameStop's stock is a reminder of how times are changing."

David certainly now has Goliath's attention.

"Starts opening r/WSB with my usual morning tabs," market strategist Michael Antonelli of R.W. Baird tweeted Monday, referring to the Reddit message board where much of the GameStop action has been coordinated.

Traders on such platforms have been plugging other stocks with major results, too. BlackBerry shares, another fan favorite, are up more than 170% in 2021. They jumped 28% on Monday alone.

Big picture: The wisdom of such trading decisions is certainly debatable. After all, it's near impossible to argue that GameStop's value has actually increased exponentially in a matter of weeks. Some gains are also attributable to a so-called "short squeeze," as those who bet against the stock rush to buy in so they can cover some of their losses.

But once the GameStop dust settles, expect Wall Street's asset managers to watch where the retail trading hive mind wanders next. Clearly, it can have an impact.

The Associated Press contributed.

Editor’s note: With our coronavirus coverage, our goal is not to alarm you but to equip you with the information you need. We will try to keep things in context and focus on helping you make decisions. See a list of resources and frequently asked questions here.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused stock market volatility in recent weeks, and some on Wall Street are concerned the U.S. is heading toward a market slump similar to stock market crashes in 2008, 1987 and even 1929.

But America has recovered from all of those fiscal storms in big ways, so let’s put more recent fears into context.

A stock market crash is a sudden and dramatic decline in prices that results in massive losses, and there’s no better example than the stock market crash of 1929. The bust was preceded by a period of economic growth through the “Roaring Twenties” alongside the rise of new technology sectors like automobiles, radio, telephones and aviation.

That changed on Oct. 28, 1929 as prices on the New York Stock Exchange tumbled 13%. To put it simply, prosperity led to overconfidence in the market. When investors feared a market correction, they began buying and selling stocks rapidly, accelerating the crash.

You might see the Dow Jones Industrial Average used as an indicator of America’s economic strength or - depending on when you look - weakness. The Dow tracks 30 “blue-chip” companies that produce industrial and consumer goods, which today includes household names like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Walmart, Apple, Boeing and more. When companies on the Dow fare poorly, it can mean other businesses are also feeling the strain.

After the initial crash in 1929, the Dow continued to lose 89% of its value before bottoming out in 1932. Unemployment skyrocketed after the crash, and the country launched into the Great Depression.

Eventually, America bounced back as the manufacturing sector ramped up in the wake of World War II and as the federal government offered aid and work projects through the New Deal. But the Dow wouldn’t return to pre-crash heights until 1954.

The next significant crash came 50 years later. The largest one-day percentage drop in history took place on Oct. 19, 1987, also known as Black Monday, when the Dow fell 22%. While there were no “evident explanations” behind the crash, program trading may have been a factor, according to Investopedia.

The most recent recession 12 years ago was caused by the failures of several big banks like Countrywide, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, who had propped themselves up on subprime mortgage loans that defaulted at record paces, which is why this recession is also known as the 2008 Housing Crisis.

The federal government bailed out banks with a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in late 2008, and Americans received stimulus aid through the $831 billion Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009.

In recent years, the Dow has been doing exceptionally well, continuing to set record numbers since 2013 and eventually reaching a record-high of 29,551 points last month.

Since the emergence of coronavirus this year, Wall Street has had more than a few bad days. The Dow plummeted nearly 3,000 points last week on March 16, a drop worse than any day during the 1929 crash.

Though the Dow closed this week with a loss, it had three straight days in the green and markets had their first week-over-week gain since February.

There’s also hope for many Americans who will benefit from a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that President Donald Trump signed into law on Friday. You can see if you qualify here and here.

For certain, America is in the middle of a roller coaster as stores, restaurants, businesses and more close to prevent the spread of the virus. But as history shows, the country has weathered fiscal storms before, and we can weather this one, too.