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The app that warns investors when Donald Trump tweets about companies
A finance app has unveiled a special feature that alerts investors when president-elect Donald Trump has tweeted about a public company.
The free Trigger app will enable users to set up notifications for Mr Trump’s tweets, allowing investors to keep a close eye on stocks in real time.
The company said it had rolled out the new feature because of the incoming President’s potential to “eradicate billions of dollars in market cap from large companies”.
The impact of Mr Trump’s social media activity was made clear last month when he sent the share price of manufacturer Boeing tumbling after posting a tweet that called for a multi-billion dollar order for a new Air Force One plane to be scrapped.
He has also tweeted about a string of other companies, including urging a boycott of Apple products last year.
Just this week Mr Trump used the social media site to attack General Motors, suggesting it was sending its “Mexican-made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers tax free across border [sic]”.
Within hours rival car giant Ford had cancelled plans to build a new $1.6bn plant in Mexico, saying it would instead invest $700m in a manufacturing base in Michigan.
“These triggers can help you capture moves or manage your holdings based on the market’s reaction to the future President’s remarks,” Trigger wrote on its blog.
“While it’s no surprise that Trump has been actively tweeting since the election, no one anticipated that a single tweet could potentially eradicate billions of dollars in market cap from large companies.
“His tweets on prices and contracts with public companies have had significant market-moving events that make it more difficult for the everyday investor to stay on top of their investments.”
The app allows users to set a variety of other triggers, such as a reminder to sell a stock when it reaches a certain price, or hits a one-year high or low. It can also trigger on "economic events and corporate fundamentals", while it says it is working on new triggers including commodities, currencies and cryptocurrencies, extreme weather events, and public sentiment.