Skip to content

We want to clarify that IG International does not have an official Line account at this time. We have not established any official presence on Line messaging platform. Therefore, any accounts claiming to represent IG International on Line are unauthorized and should be considered as fake.
CFDs are complex instruments. 72% of retail client accounts lose money when trading CFDs, with this investment provider. You can lose your money rapidly due to leverage. Please ensure you understand how this product works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money.
CFDs are complex instruments. 72% of retail client accounts lose money when trading CFDs, with this investment provider. You can lose your money rapidly due to leverage. Please ensure you understand how this product works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money.

Twitter, markets and the Tweeter-in-Chief

Donald Trump’s Twitter tirades are famous, but will this all change if Joe Biden wins in November?

US elections Source: Bloomberg

The election of US President Donald Trump in 2016 brought a new dynamic into play for investors. The White House ‘bully pulpit’ had moved into the realm of social media, and American companies were the target. The tyro president decided to use his substantial social media presence to fire broadsides at companies he believed were not following his ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) initiative in bringing jobs back to the US or were failing to keep US operations open.

Suddenly, investors in US firms had a new arena to keep an eye on. While Twitter had already matured into a vital platform for financial news, breaking stories and moving markets, the president’s tweets meant that it became even more imperative to keep an eye on the platform. The longer-term impact of the outbursts from the Oval Office might be fairly minimal, but it certainly served to create volatility in the short term for individual stocks.

Trump’s tweets generate plenty of heat but little light

As time has gone on, investors have become inured to these pronouncements, realising that, like much of the US political space, they generate plenty of heat but little light. Indeed, the president himself seems to have cut back on his company-specific tweets, particularly in recent months, as the focus on US companies and the China trade war shifts to the response to Covid-19 and, of course, the intense US election campaign.

Even if there is a changeover of administration, it won’t necessarily follow that the company specific tweets will stop. But Joe Biden is not defined by his Twitter account in the way that Donald Trump is. It seems likely that the presidential twitter account will return to the more measured tone seen under Barack Obama. A Trump win, which would be a surprise to markets, could however see the tweeting intensify, as the second-term Trump looks to turbocharge efforts to push forward on issues like China, trade and the potential post-Covid recovery plan.

Trump’s tweets only have short-term impact

But like the unending focus on which party is good for the stock market, the fascination with the president’s tweets masks an underlying truth, namely that for anyone with a view of longer than a month, the tweets are fairly irrelevant. They provide interesting and entertaining news on a day-to-day basis, and help beleaguered analysts and reporters to find a narrative for each day’s events, but it would be vastly overstating the case to say that the tweets have anything more than a short-term and limited impact. The focus on individual companies has been replaced by a morbid fascination with the ‘will they, won’t they’ stimulus talks in Washington, and here Twitter has come into its own once more. Again, the longer-term outlook for markets will be determined by far more weightier matters, but as October 2020 has seen, intraday volatility can be heavily determined by conflicting reports and tweets about stimulus.

As 2020 moves into 2021, we can expect a continued focus on these stimulus talks. Despite the misplaced hopes of investors, a pre-election stimulus deal was always unlikely. But once the poll is out of the way the focus on the next big recovery programme will return. A programme of some sort is still highly likely, but the form, size and coverage are still to be determined, and will in many ways depend on which side wins and on the size of their win. Short-term traders and investors will remain glued to Twitter, while those with a longer-term view can afford to take a more leisurely view of proceedings. But whatever happens, Twitter’s place as a source of market-moving news remains secure.


This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Forex
  • Shares
  • Indices

You might be interested in…

<h3>How much does trading cost?</h3>
<h3>Find out about IG</h3>
<h3>Plan your trading</h3>

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.