GameStop, Intel, Uber, and More

U.S. equities were mixed and little changed at midday as a report from the New York Federal Reserve showed consumers lifted their estimates for short-term and long-term inflation. More key inflation data is set to be released this week. The Dow and S&P 500 were flat, while the Nasdaq edged higher.

GameStop (GME) shares skyrocketed after Keith Gill, a key driver of the meme stock craze known by his online persona of “Roaring Kitty,” posted again for the first time in almost three years. That has raised speculation retail investors could again run up shares of GameStop and other meme stocks. Shares of another meme favorite, AMC Entertainment (AMC), also soared.

Shares of Intel (INTC) gained following a report it is in advanced talks with Apollo Global Management to have the private equity firm offer more than $11 billion in backing for the chipmaker’s plan to build a factory in Ireland.

Squarespace (SQSP) shares skyrocketed as another private equity company, Permira, said it was purchasing the provider of software for website building and hosting for $6.9 billion, and taking it private.

Uber Technologies (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) shares dropped as a trial began in Massachusetts over charges the rideshare giants misrepresented their drivers as contract workers, not employees.

Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) lost ground and Apple (AAPL) shares rose with the iPhone maker reportedly close to an agreement with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to put its ChatGPT chatbot features on iPhones. That followed earlier reports that Apple was in talks with Google to use its AI features in iPhones. OpenAI could also reportedly announce an AI-powered search engine rivaling Google’s offerings.

Oil futures advanced and gold prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down. The U.S. dollar gained on the yen, but lost ground to the euro and pound. Most major cryptocurrencies traded in the green.