President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd upon arriving at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday, before delivering a speech. [AP]
President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd upon arriving at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday, before delivering a speech. [AP]

The Herald Business international desk delivers a daily briefing on Trump-related issues through the "One Trump a Day" newsletter and series. Click "Original Article" below the headline to read more.

High-frequency trading firms profit from price differences that emerge over fractions of a second. That is why securing data even a few nanoseconds ahead of rivals can make all the difference.

미국 월스트리트저널(WSJ)

President Donald Trump's Truth Social posts are now being sold to financial institutions as an ultra-fast paid product. Major Wall Street investment firms were already running automated systems to analyze Trump's posts in real time even before the paid service became available.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that major Wall Street investment firms had been automatically monitoring Trump's posts even before the Truth API was introduced.

Truth Social, the social media platform created by President Donald Trump. [Getty Images]
Truth Social, the social media platform created by President Donald Trump. [Getty Images]

The Truth API delivers posts from Trump and other key accounts to investment firms' systems the moment they go public. People familiar with the matter said the monthly fee is $100,000, or $60,000 under a multi-year contract. At least five high-frequency trading firms have already subscribed, those people said.

TMTG is selling the real-time data service to brokerages and high-frequency trading firms that track Trump's posts on Truth Social, the Journal reported.

Investment decisions can shift in an instant depending on how quickly a firm obtains Trump's latest posts. For example, the Journal said a firm using the Truth API could cancel a pending crude oil futures buy order after reading Trump's post declaring an end to the Iran war ahead of retail investors, then pivot to a short position betting on falling oil prices.

The Journal said firms "operate systems that identify key words — company names, 'truce,' 'Iran' and others that could move markets — and then trade shares or cancel existing orders," adding that "some firms use AI agents to analyze within seconds how a post might affect share prices and commodity prices, with order execution taking less than a second."

A US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter flies overhead. [Getty Images]
A US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter flies overhead. [Getty Images]

There have been confirmed cases of millions of shares changing hands within seconds of Trump posting on Truth Social.

According to financial data firm DTN, after Trump posted two messages related to Iran last month, more than 2 million shares were traded in the minute following each post. Share prices of roughly 24 energy and industrial stocks swung by more than 2 percent in the process.

On the afternoon of June 9, Trump posted on Truth Social that "Iran shot down a US Army Apache helicopter patrolling the Strait of Hormuz," adding that "the United States has no choice but to respond to this attack." Trading volume in energy stocks surged immediately after the post went live, and share prices across related sectors all rose.

The Journal said "high-frequency trading firms profit from price differences that emerge over short periods of time, so securing data even a few nanoseconds ahead of rivals is critical." The paper added that firms place servers near the computer systems of NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange to gain a speed advantage, and some keep servers near Washington to receive government economic data as early as possible.

Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of brokerage Themis Trading, said high-frequency trading firms "build every system imaginable to be faster than everyone else," calling the Truth Social feed "the last missing piece."

Truth Social, the social network founded by President Donald Trump. [AP]
Truth Social, the social network founded by President Donald Trump. [AP]

Some on Wall Street expect Truth Social's real-time feed to become an essential service across the industry.

David Bull, a managing director at options brokerage Baycrest, described the cost as "more of a defensive expense to avoid falling behind the competition than a cost necessarily aimed at generating excess returns."

Retail investors are also trying to use Trump's posts to inform their trading decisions, but competing with ultra-fast algorithms is effectively impossible. Bull said "retail investors cannot react quickly enough to generate meaningful returns in the market."


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com