Beyond Reddit, day traders turning social media platforms into squawk boxes

By Imani Moise (Reuters) – Social media chatrooms are beginning to resemble the squawk boxes on old-fashioned trading floors, as a new generation of retail traders continues to gain influence over the stock market. While attention has focused on the Wallstreetbets Reddit page that helped send shares of GameStop Corp and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc soaring, thousands of “amateur” investors have also been congregating on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Discord, Clubhouse, Slack and other platforms to trade tips away from the public eye, posts shared with and seen by Reuters show. For example, Rapper 21 Savage’s manager, Stone Mound Meezy, started a Clubhouse room on Wednesday to celebrate earning $40,000 in GameStop options. It quickly filled with more than 1,200 participants who encouraged newbies to jump into other investments, including Nokia Oyj and cryptocurrencies. “If I make $100K because of this goofy *ss room … OOOOH WEEEEE,” Meezy wrote after investing in Nokia at their suggestions and seeing he was in the money. In another Clubhouse room, venture capitalist Mark Monroe was urging 2,500 members to stay away from “meme stocks” that he believed could crash by the end of the week.  » Read More