The U.S. financial markets experienced what analysts are calling a “Trump bump” following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a fresh record high, and the other leading benchmark stock indexes added to their gains, continuing their impressive first-half rally.
The Dow Jones picked up 210.88 points, or 0.53 percent, to 40,211.78. The record close on July 15 was fueled by gains in Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, and American Express. The Dow is up by 6.7 percent year to date.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 74.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,472.57. So far this year, the index has surged by 23 percent.
The S&P 500 Index edged up by 15.87 points, or 0.28 percent, to 5,631.22. The index has rallied by 18 percent year to date.
After the July 13 assassination attempt, investors might be recalculating the presumptive Republican nominee’s chances, said Mark Malek, chief investment officer of Siebert Financial Corp.
“Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump, according to some, will give him a further leg up on Biden, causing traders to have a fresh look on the Trump 2024 trade,” Mr. Malek said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times.
“In the absence of any real policy proclamations from Trump (other than no taxes on tips), traders are finding themselves having to speculate.”
Volatility could be prevalent throughout the U.S. stock market this week, according to Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets.
“We may get a little rally, a Trump bump if you will,” he said in an email sent to The Epoch Times, “and could experience intraday volatility all week as political rhetoric will heat up into the Republican Convention.”
Trump Media Stock Soars
Trump Media & Technology Group’s (TMTG) stock price rocketed to kick off the trading week, with investors adjusting their odds of the former president winning the election in November.
The stock rocketed up by $9.69, or 31.37 percent, to $40.58 to finish the trading session.
Trump Media shares have been volatile since their debut on the Nasdaq this past spring, falling to as low as $22.84 on April 16.
Still, year to date, the stock has rallied nearly 133 percent.
The ex-president owns a majority stake in the company, valued at nearly $4 billion. However, he cannot sell his holdings until a six-month lock-up period expires at the end of September.
TMTG CEO Devin Nunes requested additional resources that former President Trump might require “to guarantee his safety.”
“I also call for the federal government to provide any security resources requested by President Trump to guarantee his safety. America will overcome this despicable shooting and together, our nation will endure.”
Company leaders say they are developing “a wide array of initiatives and innovations to build out the Truth Social platform, including potential mergers and acquisitions activities.”
“We are particularly excited to move forward with live TV streaming by developing our own content delivery network, which we believe will be a major enhancement of the platform,” Mr. Nunes said in May.
