Shares in Digital World Acquisition (DWAC.O), which is set to release former US President Donald Trump’s social media platform, rose on Tuesday following his victory in the first Republican primary in Iowa for the 2024 presidential race, Reuters reported.
Stock rose 9.3% to $18.93 in premarket trading as the victory boosted confidence in Trump’s electoral performance given his lead in national polls.
Digital World has lost more than 93% of its share price over the past 12 months as the company’s merger with Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent of social media platform Truth Social, has experienced numerous delays since it was announced in October 2021.
Trump promised to stick exclusively to the new platform after he was banned on Twitter following an attack by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. However, the former president returned to x.com (formerly Twitter) in August after the social network’s new owner, Elon Musk, lifted the ban.
Meanwhile, the price of software developer Phunware Inc (PHUN.O), which was hired during Trump’s 2020 election campaign to create a phone app, leapt about 60 per cent to 12 cents on Tuesday.
Some 41 million shares of Phunware changed hands by 6:30 a.m. ET, the largest of any stock trading on US exchanges before the opening bell.
Shares of video hosting platform Rumble (RUM.O) also rose by 2.4% to $3.47 in light premarket volume.
