Alex Wong / Getty, REUTERS / Rebecca Cook
- Warren Buffett and Elon Musk are moving markets this year.
- Berkshire Hathaway’s bets on Verizon and Chevron both boosted those shares.
- Musk’s tweets have lifted GameStop, Dogecoin, Etsy, bitcoin and other assets.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Warren Buffett moves markets according to his decisions as many investors trust the judgment of Berkshire Hathaway CEO and they want to buy what he bought and sell what he sold.
Other investors expect the behavior and try to take advantage by buying or selling in front of the Buffett faithful, making the process somewhat self-fulfilling.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shown similar ability over the past few weeks, pushing stocks and cryptocurrencies upward with his tweets.
The “Buffett Bump” was in full view this week after Berkshire announced multi-billion dollar interests in Verizon, Chevron and Marsh & McLennan after the markets closed on Tuesday. The share price of the telecommunications titan rose by 5% on Wednesday, while the shares in the energy giant and the financial services group rose by about 3%.
The rallies added a total of about $ 19 billion to the market capitalizations of the three companies.
Similarly, there have been ‘Musk Moves’ in numerous securities this year. The Tesla chief’s tweets about GameStop, Dogecoin and Etsy have helped – at least temporarily – raise their prices.
Musk’s tweets about the encrypted messaging app Signal and the techno song “Sandstorm” have been linked to run-in in unrelated effects.
In addition, Tesla’s purchase of $ 1.5 billion bitcoin this month was a major catalyst in the latest digital currency rally. Musk’s endorsement was seen as a milestone in the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Clearly, Buffett’s support continues to translate into billion-dollar increases in the market value of companies. He has some competition from Musk, whose stamp of approval has a similar, though less precise, and sustained effect on markets.