What happened
The stock market was having a mildly negative session on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 down by about 0.3% shortly before the end of the trading day. However, fintech giant Square (NYSE: SQ) was a notable underperformer — as of 3:45 p.m. EDT, shares had fallen by more than 5%.
So what
This move might seem odd given all of the hype surrounding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Coinbase completed its long-anticipated direct listing today, and shares were trading for about 30% more than their initial reference price.
However, it seems like the hype faded throughout the session. At their peak, Coinbase shares had popped by more than 70%, so it’s fair to say that investor demand for cryptocurrency-related stocks might be cooling off. And Square has a massive Bitcoin operation — some estimates say that as much as one-fourth of all U.S. Bitcoin volume can be attributed to the Cash App.
Beyond that, it’s also worth noting that many tech stocks are weak today. The Nasdaq is by far the worst performing of the three major indexes, and several other high-interest tech stocks are seeing similar declines.
Now what
On days like today, it’s important to take a step back, especially since there doesn’t appear to be any company-specific news fueling the move. And it’s also important to remember that Square’s stock is up by 334% over the past year, even after today’s drop, so don’t read too much into it.
