Shares in Donald Trump’s media company surged by about a third to reach their highest value in five weeks after the attempted assassination of the former US president, adding about $2bn (£1.5bn) to the valuation of the business behind the X rival Truth Social.
Trump Media and Technology Group, which uses his initials DJT as its ticker, has been a volatile stock since its blockbuster debut in March. However, after Saturday night’s attack increased Trump’s perceived chances of winning November’s presidential election, traders pushed the share price back to the highest level since 10 June.
It soared as high as $46.27 on Monday morning in New York, up from $30.89 on Friday evening. The price then dropped back to $40.58 at closing.
Trump Media is 60% owned by the former US president, meaning the paper value of his stake, worth about $3.8bn on Friday, has risen by about $1bn.
The company’s shares had risen as much as 71% at one point in pre-market trading – a period of buying and selling shares before stock markets open officially. If that move had been sustained when markets opened, it would have added $4bn to its valuation.
Neil Wilson, the chief analyst at the brokerage company Finalto, said the share price move was a “bet on Trump” and the widespread perception that the shooting had improved the former president’s chances of regaining the White House in November.
“DJT is moving on Trump’s improved odds of winning. But it’s also because you think more people will be drawn to the platform to access a re-elected Trump,” he said.
Trump launched Truth Social after being banned from X, then Twitter, following the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021. Although he has been reinstated under the subsequent ownership of Elon Musk, who has urged the former president to return, Trump has posted only once on his X account since, preferring to share his thoughts on Truth Social.
Trump Media reached a high of more than $79 on 26 March when it started trading in New York, and hit a closing low of $22.84 on 16 April as the former president’s criminal hush-money trial began. Trump was later found guilty of the charges.
The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq stock market indices all rose in early trading on Monday, as some investors bet that potentially higher spending and inflation under a Trump administration would raise corporate earnings.
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Bob Savage, the head of markets strategy and insights at the investment bank BNY Mellon, said: “The narrative for the day rests on the ‘Trump trade’ with many investors assuming the weekend events add to the former president being re-elected.
“The logic being that the chances of tax cut extensions and higher trade tariffs – leading to even higher US fiscal deficits, even alongside potential growth headwinds and intense political pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease as inflation continues to subside near term.”
Bitcoin, the cornerstone of the cryptocurrency market, has also rallied since Saturday’s shooting. The price of one bitcoin rose above $63,000 on Monday, and was up 9% over the day, according to the data provider Refinitiv.
The cryptocurrency, which tends to be more volatile than many traditional assets, had slumped from above $70,000 in early June to below $54,000 in early July. Its record high was in March, when it hit $73,803.
