Trump Media & Technology Group stock was picking up gains on Monday as investors considered how Elon Musk's appearance at a Donald Trump rally might impact the stock.
Shares in the Truth Social parent, which is majority owned by the former president and trades under the ticker DJT, climbed 14%, while the S&P 500 index slipped 0.3%.
The move came after Trump hosted a rally in Butler, Pa., the city where he survived an assassination attempt in July. He was joined on stage by Tesla CEO Musk, who jumped around the stage and then said that next month's contest between the billionaire businessman and Vice President Kamala Harris would be "no ordinary election," and was a "must-win situation" for the Republicans.
Musk's support for Trump isn't a surprise. He's been endorsing the former The Apprentice host on X for months, and it's unclear how his appearance at the event will impact Trump Media shares. Investors have tended to buy and sell the stock to show their support for Trump's campaign, rather than trade it based on traditional valuation metrics like its price-to-earnings ratio or future cash flows.
Truth Social remains a niche player in the social media market compared with Big Tech behemoths such as Facebook parent Meta Platforms, as well as X, the platform formerly known as Twitter that Musk bought in October 2022.
As of Friday's close, DJT was down 43% over the past three months. It has recovered in recent weeks, with Trump and other insiders holding off from selling stock even after a lockup period expired last month.
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