Stock Market’s Million Little Dramas Come Down to a Supply Glut

Angst has been the stock market story of late. It soars, it plunges, and all the while investors fret over sky high valuations and pore over data to figure out when inflation will bring the house of cards crashing down. But sometimes, like now, the problem is far simpler than that: too much supply and not enough demand.

Companies have raised over $170 billion through initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges in 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. IPOs are so hot they’re on track to top last year’s $180 billion haul, the most since at least the 2008 financial crisis.