The Economic Club of Chicago recently hosted former President Donald Trump, coinciding with notable market developments involving his company, Trump Media & Technology Group. The company’s stock, trading under the symbol DJT—matching Trump’s initials—experienced a brief halt on Wall Street after a sudden drop in value.
The trading suspension occurred at 2:42 p.m. Eastern Time, lasting about five minutes as per regulations governing unusual market volatility. On Tuesday, DJT shares initially surged to an intraday high of $33.85, reflecting a 13% increase, before plummeting later, which led to the trading pause. After the halt was lifted, shares continued to decline, closing at $27.06, down $2.89 or 9.6% for the day.
This decline partially reversed gains achieved since September 24, where the stock had seen an upswing coinciding with Trump’s perceived chances in the upcoming November 5 presidential election. In the past week, prediction markets have shifted to favor Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, resulting in increased trading activity.
Additionally, on the same day, Trump’s new cryptocurrency platform, World Liberty Financial, faced significant issues, affecting sales and drawing media attention to its operational struggles.
The demographic of DJT’s investors consists primarily of small investors, many of whom are Trump supporters, rather than traditional stock market investors focusing on financial performance. Trading volume for DJT surged to around 97 million shares on Tuesday, a stark increase compared to the 30-day average of approximately 20 million.
Investors within the DJT community expressed their frustrations on Truth Social regarding the trading halt and the stock’s decline, attributing blame to short sellers. Statements from investors indicated strong sentiments against perceived market manipulation, although it is important to note that trading halts are not controlled by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but rather activated by the stock exchanges themselves.
Earlier this year, Trump Media had raised concerns about potential market manipulation linked to short-selling in a complaint to the Nasdaq.