How the markets reacted to Trump’s assassination attempt

Market reactions to the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania represent, according to taste, rational bets on the significantly increased likelihood of a second Trump presidency or stark confirmation of the madness that has overtaken America and threatens the civilised world.

Shares in Trump Media & Technology – the parent of his social media platform Truth Social – rose by 30 per cent on Monday, adding more than $1 billion to Trump’s notional fortune despite the company’s revenues being, as one observer pointed out, ‘comparable to that of two Starbucks stores’. Also up were shares in gunmakers such as Smith & Wesson and in private prison operators – and US Treasury bond yields, reflecting fears that Trump will let government debt rip. Down, unsurprisingly, were clean energy stocks.

Then there’s bitcoin, up almost 10 per cent in the past few days on top of a six-month rally that has coincided with Trump’s declared enthusiasm for all things crypto: he’s due to address a bitcoin conference in Nashville next week.