Major trading platforms including Robinhood, TDAmeritrade and Interactive Brokers are restricting — or cutting off entirely — trading on high-flying stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment.
Why it matters: It limits access to the traders that have contributed to the wild Reddit-driven activity — a phenomenon that has gripped Wall Street and the country.
Robinhood said it will only allow traders to close out their positions in stocks like GameStop, AMC Entertainment, BlackBerry and a slew of others that have been popular on Reddit boards, TikTok and other social media platforms, citing "recent volatility."
Interactive Brokers is cutting off options trading for these names and upping the requirements necessary to take long or short positions in these stocks.
- What they're saying: "We do not believe this situation will subside until the exchanges and regulators halt or put certain symbols into liquidation only. We will continue to monitor market conditions and may add or remove symbols as may be warranted," the company said in a statement to CNBC.
TDAmeritrade also limited trading for these stocks,while Charles Schwab (which owns TDAmeritrade) tightened margin requirements for trading.
Where it stands: Shares of GameStop jumped as much as 14% higher in early trading, while other hot meme stocks fell dramatically — including Bed Bath & Beyond (-18%), BlackBerry (-21%) and AMC (-26%).
- A number of trading platforms also said they were experiencing device disruptions.