By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Vlad Tenev, co-founder and co-CEO of investing app Robinhood, speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt event in Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Online broker Robinhood restricted trade in about 13 highly volatile stocks such as GameStop and AMC Entertainment to protect the company and its customers, Chief Executive Vladimir Tenev said on Thursday.
The app, popular with young investors for its simplicity, has been at the heart of the day-trading mania that has followed calls on social media to buy stocks heavily shorted by hedge funds. The restrictions allowed customers to sell but not buy.
GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings remained overwhelmingly favored stocks on Reddit's top trading forum on Thursday, even as they and other companies at the core of a retail trader frenzy plummeted after online brokerages imposed trading restrictions.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc is exploring raising more capital, including through yet another possible stock sale, to weather the COVID-19 pandemic and take advantage of this week's rally in its shares, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Online broker Robinhood has been one of the hottest venues in this week's retail-trading frenzy but its sudden curbs on buying of some hot stocks have raised the ire of customers, celebrities and politicians who argue it unfairly benefits bigger investors.