Nasdaq outperforms markets with 0.49% gain; GameStop, AMC rise

June 7 (UPI) -- The Nasdaq Composite posted moderate gains, while the other two indexes fell on Monday, as so-called "meme stocks" saw a renewed surge.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.49% to start the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.36% and the S&P 500 slid 0.08%, falling short of an intraday record high.

Meme stocks, which have largely been targeted by investors from the Reddit group r/WallStreetBets, saw a boost on Monday.

GameStop stock gained 12.74% ahead of an annual shareholder meeting Wednesday where Chew.com founder Ryan Cohen is expected to be named the video game retailer's next chairman of the board.

BlackBerry stock also rose 13.78%, while AMC Entertainment gained 14.8% after selling 11.55 million shares and raising more than $587.4 million on Thursday.

Microsoft stock also rose 1.2% and Boeing gained 1.1% as the blue chips helped the Dow avoid greater losses.

Monday's overall losses came after the major indexes came off a week where all three posted gains with the S&P 500 rising 0.6% to bring its gains for the year to 12%.

"Stocks have climbed back toward record-high territory as the pace of the economic recovery appears to be well-balanced," Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler told CNBC. "Signs of rising inflation have mostly been offset by rising subscriptions to the Fed's 'transitory' outlook."