CNN
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Shares of former President Donald Trump’s social media company rose on the last day before the US presidential election.

Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), the parent company of Truth Social, rose 12% on Monday. There was no clear catalyst for the increase.

The stock has been highly volatile since it went public in March, quadrupling in value over a five-week period before plummeting 41% over the past three trading sessions.

Traders have used Trump’s stock as a barometer of sorts for the former president’s perceived re-election chances. If Trump is reelected, Truth Social could become an increasingly important communication tool, much as the former president used Twitter to spread policy and other information during his administration. If Vice President Kamala Harris wins, Truth Social’s business prospects are likely non-existent.

The company’s stock does not trade based on the fundamental health of the company’s business, which is minuscule compared to its better-known rivals such as X, TikTok and Instagram. The company is in a cash crunch and said it generated less than $1 million in revenue last quarter.

Although polls show the presidential race remains extremely tight, online betting markets have given Trump an edge over Harris in recent weeks, and market analysts attribute the rise in Trump stock to the trend on prediction sites.

Likewise, Trump’s media stock began to implode when Harris began making a comeback in the online gambling markets. The precipitous decline wiped $2.4 billion off Trump’s net worth between Wednesday and Friday, chipping away at the $3.6 billion in profits Trump made last month.

Monday’s winnings added more than $400 million to Trump’s net worth.

Trump’s election chances on gambling sites recovered somewhat on Monday. But it’s not clear that Monday’s stock gains can be attributed to anything specific, and the shares didn’t quite follow the rising bids in the gambling market. The company made no announcements and Trump did not appear to make any statements that would undermine the stock.

Trump stock is a “meme stock,” a speculative trade that can vary wildly for almost any reason.

The broader stock market also rebounded somewhat on Monday, although it was much less volatile than Trump’s media stocks.

The Dow Jones fell 258 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq also fell 0.3% after spending much of the day in positive territory.