Volatile Times for "Trump Trades" and Wall Street

There was an atmospheric tension on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors reacted to the first official acts of President Donald Trump. Hours after taking office, Trump announced a series of executive orders outlining the maximization of oil production, curbing immigration, and the introduction of tariffs. These are the defining features of his second term as President of the United States. The so-called "Trump Trades" kept the stock market moving: some securities rose while others fell as investors prepared for renewed volatility under Trump 2.0. Shares of the Trump Media & Technology Group, parent company of the social media platform Truth Social, fell by 11.7% after a strong surge ahead of the inauguration day. Retail investors betting on Trump's presidency are now facing competition from the newly launched "memecoin," whose values surged to over $15 billion in just one day. Shares of the Elon Musk-led company Tesla fell by 2.8% after losing their pre-market gains. The stock had risen 70% since the presidential election in November as investors hoped for Musk's growing collaboration with Trump and his role in the government. With a determined "We will drill baby, drill," Trump announced a comprehensive increase in American oil and gas production. Shares of major oil companies experienced a rise: both Schlumberger and Kinder Morgan rose by 1.7% and 2.2%, respectively. Nuclear energy stocks gained momentum after Chris Wright was appointed as Energy Secretary, prioritizing the increase of nuclear power and liquefied gas production. Vistra, NuScale Power, and the Sam Altman-backed start-up Oklo Inc all recorded significant stock gains. Shares of private prison operators like GEO Group and CoreCivic saw minimal losses, reversing pre-market gains. These companies had posted double-digit increases last year based on expectations of stricter immigration policies. Unexpectedly, investors held back as Trump at the last minute refrained from imposing high tariffs on Chinese goods. The share price of Alibaba Group Holding rose by 0.6%. In the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector, companies experienced a decline after the Bitcoin rally, which had reached a record high of $109,071, subsided. Coinbase Global lost 3.6%, while Marathon Digital and MicroStrategy fell by 1.7% and 3.9%, respectively.