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RETAIL TRADERS FLOCK TO TRUMP MEDIA SHARES AHEAD OF INAUGURATION DAY

Retail traders increased their purchases of Trump Media shares DJT.O ahead of Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 when Donald Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States.

Individual investors bought about $2 million on Monday and Tuesday each, the highest since Nov. 14, according to Vanda Research. However, the excitement pales in comparison to the run up to U.S. election when daily net purchases by this investor cohort hit a record of about $14 million on Oct. 29.

Trump Media shares were last up 1.9% in premarket trading on Thursday after climbing 15.6% so far this week. Markets will be shut for Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, when Trump will take the oath of office in front of the U.S. Capitol.

"Watch out for sell-the-news flow action following the event," Marco Iachini, senior vice president at Vanda Research, said in a note.

"An ensuing slide ... accompanied by strong retail buying would imply institutional investors front-ran retail traders, using them as exit liquidity."

(Medha Singh)

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(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)