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Stock prices of guns and ammunition manufacturers have soared following the attempted assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
After the markets opened on Monday – the first time since Saturday’s shooting during a Pennsylvania rally – shares in major firearm retailers jumped up, some by more than 10 percent.
“The gun industry has perverse incentives,” Dru Stevenson, a professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, told the New York Times in 2022 after a mass shooting. “because sales and their stocks go up when there are events like this.”
Such spikes are common following high-profile shooting incidents including mass shootings, as American gun owners anticipate the introduction of stricter gun laws. Hypothetical crackdowns lead some people to buy more firearms out of fear that their availability will become limited. There is also a concern for personal safety.
“Stocks are going up because people think there is going to be a spike in gun sales, not because they think there will be new restrictions,” Alex Barrio, the director of advocacy for gun violence prevention at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, told the Times in 2022. “It’s a bet on fear.”
Smith and Wesson jumped by about 11.5 percent to $15.63 per share on Monday, while Sturm Ruger & Company went up by around 7 percent, rising to $44.24 around midday.
Other companies that saw large upticks included Ammo Inc., which had a rise in stock price of around 15 percent, and outdoor sporting goods chain Vista Outdoor Inc. rose by around 1.15 percent.
On Monday, the US markets overall responded positively to the failed attempt on Trump’s life, with the Dow Jones hitting a new high.
Stocks relating specifically to the former president also made significant gains.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent of the former president’s social media platform Truth Social, gapped up more than 50 percent in heavy volume before trimming gains to around 33 percent.
Following the incident the former president took to Truth Social to issue a message of defiance, urging his followers to “stand united” and remain “strong and determined”.
“Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” he wrote.
“We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.”
