Retail investors online are in shock over the market's abrupt U-turn that catapulted US stocks to their best day in years on Wednesday.

But they're not at a loss for words — or memes.

"The entire stock market is now a meme stock," one Reddit user said, commenting on an r/stocks post regarding Wednesday's surge.

The whiplash has sparked an explosion of stock market memes, and a mix of joy and anger among investors on social media .

But whether traders are celebrating sudden gains or licking their wounds, one common theme is tying everyone together: shock and awe.

Glee and gloom

Indexes were in free fall in the week since the Trump administration unleashed a barrage of tough tariffs . For days, the S&P 500 slipped closer to bear market territory, but an unexpected 90-day policy pause on Wednesday sent indexes storming higher .

The S&P 500 had its best day since 2008 and the Nasdaq Composite saw its biggest single-day gain since 2001. The Dow rose almost 3,000 points.

For many traders, though, this wasn't good news.

Various posts and comments acknowledged ruined put options, a type of trade that bets on the market to fall. If the opposite happens, these trades can trigger big losses.

"Cost me 12k.... puts went from up 10% to down 75% instantly...... damn it," a user said under the same Reddit post.

"Just lost 50% of my portfolio," another Redditor conceded in a response on r/wallstreetbets, a retail trading subreddit that ballooned in popularity during the pandemic.

At the same time, there was no shortage of celebration.

The Wall Street Bets subreddit was full of screenshots showing gains, and congratulatory comments celebrating the mantra to "buy the dip." Amid the market carnage, retail investors have piled into the sell-off at a historic pace , pouring billions into the S&P 500 in the tail-end of last week.