Proactive Investors - Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ:DJT) surged pre-market on Monday and bitcoin gained after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at the weekend.
Following the shooting in Pennsylvania on Saturday, where the former US President and expected Republican nominee for this year's election sustained an injury to his ear and the shooter and a spectator were killed, financial markets initially saw a moderate increase in demand for assets thought of as safe-havens, such as gold, but this did not last into Monday.
But shares in the parent company of Trump's Truth Social media company soared 54% to $47.70.
"The latest twist in the Presidential election had a bigger political impact than it did financial impact," said Kathleen Brooks, head of research at XTB, on Monday.
"There was a mild rush to safe havens, however, gold is now in retreat, US 10-year Treasury yields fell a mere 3 basis points and the dollar is also giving back earlier gains as we start the European trading session."
Bitcoin had one of the stronger reactions to Trump’s shooting, jumping from the mid $57,000s on Friday to above $60,000 on Sunday and extending gain this morning to above $63,200.
"It's not just he’s seen a ‘pro-crypto’, it’s a fear trade," said market analyst Neil Wilson at Finalto.
"I think there is a genuine fear about what could happen in America. Trump is talking about bringing the country together. We could see a change."
After the former president promised to give a "whole different speech" at this week's Republican National Convention, Wilson wondered "Can Trump the survivor become Trump the saviour?"
There was also some move in "the Trump 2.0 trade", noted Wilson, noting rises in Treasury yields, the dollar, with falls in Asian stocks and Mexico’s peso.
"But the dollar has come off since and it could be a range of factors at play. One, the assassination attempt only burnishes Trump’s image as a fighter and a man you cannot hold down.
"They tried to lock him up, they tried to kill him; his response was simply: ‘fight’. Trump was already riding high post-debate; the events of the weekend only make it more of a certainty that he wins in November. It also makes it almost impossible to imagine Biden stepping down now."
Jane Foley, senior FX strategist at Rabobank said there was "lot to digest" for financial markets.
"Market pricing, however, can only respond in a binary manner," she said, "for the markets, the complexities of the US political backdrop have been boiled down to the assumption that the weekend events will lead to an increased chance of Trump winning the November Presidential election."
The US dollar has gained ground this morning, which Foley said was "on the back of the assumption that a looser US fiscal policy and greater tariffs under Trump would be inflationary and could limit the degree of Fed rate cuts this cycle.
"That said, market expectations of a September Fed rate cut have been growing over the past couple of weeks on the back of a softening in US economic data, and an interview with Fed Chair Powell later today will ensure the outlook for monetary policy pre-election keeps its place in market headlines."