(Reuters) – Shares of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s media company surged 17% on Monday, extending gains following a recent increase in betting odds that the Republican candidate will win the neck-and-neck race for the White House.
Monday’s gains in the shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, 57% owned by Trump, accelerated after reports that Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to be interviewed on Fox News.
Trump’s odds of winning the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election in recent days have edged higher on betting websites, although the outcome remains a virtual coin flip.
Shares of Trump Media surged 53% last week, recovering much of their losses in recent months.
On the PredictIt platform, contracts for a Trump victory traded at 53 cents, with a potential $1 payout. Harris contracts were at 49 cents.
Oddschecker.com had Trump at the equivalent of about a 55% chance of winning and Harris at about 45%, while a recent Wall Street Journal poll showed the two candidates tied across battleground states that could decide the election.
Chief political anchor Bret Baier will interview Harris on Wednesday on the conservatively leaning Fox News channel.
Trump Media, which operates the Truth Social app, saw its value balloon to nearly $10 billion following its Wall Street debut in March, lifted by Trump traders who saw it as a speculative bet on his chances of securing a second four-year term as president.
Trump Media’s revenue is equivalent to two Starbucks coffee shops, and strategists say its current $6 billion stock market value is detached from its day-to-day business.
Trump’s stake in Trump Media is now worth about $3.4 billion.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Lance Tupper in New York; Editing by Mark Porter)
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