Stock indexes were mixed. Coinbase got a reference price ahead of its Nasdaq debut. And the new $3,000 Child Tax Credit will begin payments in July. Here's how the news affects your money.
Mixed performance for markets
Two of the three major U.S. stock indexes rose Tuesday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.3% and the Nasdaq adding 1%. The Dow sank 0.2%.
The uneven performance came as traders digested a mixture of better-than-expected financial results and disappointing headlines. On the bright side, March inflation numbers were better than many market-watchers had feared. Keeping investor optimism in check: news of a temporary halt in Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution putting a damper on so-called "reopening trades."
Markets were mixed Wednesday afternoon, with the Dow rallying to hit a new intraday high.
Video by Courtney Stith
Coinbase gets reference price of $250 per share
Ahead of Coinbase's Wednesday direct listing, Nasdaq gave the cryptocurrency firm's shares a reference price of $250. Intended to provide a benchmark for performance once the stock starts trading, the reference price would set Coinbase's total value at about $65 billion.
Coinbase is the first major company to go public via direct listing on the Nasdaq. Early shareholders hope it will follow in the footsteps of prominent companies that directly listed on the New York Stock Exchange in recent years. Shares of Spotify, Slack, Palantir, Asana, and Roblox opened at 37% above their reference price, on average. Were Coinbase to do the same, its stock would soar to $343 per share.
Coinbase, an online marketplace for digital currencies, reported $1.8 billion in estimated revenue in the first quarter — a ninefold increase from the previous year — largely due to a huge uptick in prices and increased trading of cryptocurrency.
The digital currencies bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin traded at or near all-time highs Tuesday.
New $3,000 Child Tax Credit payments to launch in July
The IRS will begin sending periodic payments of the newly expanded Child Tax Credit starting in July, Commissioner Charles Rettig said on Tuesday. The good news comes just weeks after Rettig testified before Congress that the IRS might not have been able to get the program up and running in time.
Under the American Rescue Plan, qualifying parents claiming the credit could receive up to $3,000 annually ($250 per month) per child ages 6 to 17, and up to $3,600 annually ($300 per month) for children under age 6.
To find out much money you could get under the new rules, check out Grow's Child Tax Credit calculator.
Video by Stephen Parkhurst
Words you've heard: reopening trade
Investors betting on a reopening trade think shares of certain companies — such as travel and leisure firms — will rise as Americans approach herd immunity and the economy gets back to normal. Tuesday's pause in J&J's vaccine rollout dampened enthusiasm, though: Shares in Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Avis Budget dipped.
Although the daily news can have an impact on your wallet, remember to take a long-term outlook when it comes to decisions on spending, saving, and investing.
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- How to invest in crypto if you want to ‘be very rich’ or else not ‘despondent about your losses,’ according to a wealth advisor
- ‘Almost everyone gets a benefit’ with the new Child Tax Credit of up to $3,600: Here’s how and when parents will get payments