Why the GameStop Frenzy Is Mostly a Made in U.S.A. Drama
- Limited short selling, options curb mania in Europe, Asia
- Day traders outside U.S. still drawn to GameStop, AMC
On the surface, it looks like the GameStop Corp. uproar pitting Reddit day traders against giant hedge funds is going global.
New accounts at Tiger Brokers in Singapore surged last week. In the U.K., Trading 212 is the most downloaded app in the country, while in Korea, GameStop is among the top 10 most-held foreign shares.
Yet even as the hype spreads, the equity trading revolution playing out in the U.S. is unlikely to be matched anytime soon in Asia and Europe. Tighter restrictions on short selling, limited options trading and higher taxes and fees will keep it a U.S. game for now.
“There are some important elements in the European markets that differ from the U.S. that make it difficult to see a repeat,” said John Garvey, global financial services leader at PwC, who cited limited free trading and restricted short selling.