Trump’s Truth Social post sparks rally in his media company

KARACHI: Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (DJT) shares soared on Wednesday, climbing 21.67 per cent to close at $20.27 amid a surge in trading volume that nearly doubled the stock’s daily average. The rally extended in after-hours trading, with the stock advancing a further 6.86 per cent to $21.6.

At 9:37am ET, just after the market opened, US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” The message ended with the letters ‘DJT’, a reference to both his initials and the ticker symbol for Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind the Truth Social platform in which he holds a majority stake.

The post preceded a historic rebound on Wall Street. Investors who heeded Trump’s call to ‘buy’ stocks were quickly rewarded after a sudden reversal in US trade policy sent markets soaring.

Stocks surged in afternoon trading after Trump said he had authorised a 90-day pause on reciprocal and 10 per cent tariffs, effective immediately. The move reversed investor sentiment that had soured following his earlier call for sweeping new import taxes.

The stock, which had opened at $16.52, traded in a wide intraday range of $16.5 to $20.4. More than 14.1 million shares changed hands, almost twice its 30-day average of 7.3 million.

At 01:26pm, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2,169.93 points, or 5.76 per cent, to 39,801.82, the S&P 500 gained 321.89 points, or 6.46 per cent, to 5,304.66, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1,229.2 points, or 8.04 per cent, to 16,497.11.

According to a Forbes article published on April 7, Trump’s stake in DJT plummeted about $260 million to $1.9 billion after the president announced his tariff plans on April 3. Trump’s stake in the company, before the tariff announcement, was worth nearly $2.2 billion.

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp engages in operating social media and in the technology business. Its brands include TRUTH Social, TMTG+ and TMTG News.