Gun stocks jump after shooting at Congressional baseball practice

Adam Weinstein/Task and PurposeA man shoots an airgun at a target.Gun stocks rallied on Wednesday after a top Republican congressman and several other people were shot during baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia.

GOP Majority Whip Steve Scalise was among several who were reportedly hit, including two officers with the Capitol Police.

The gunmakers that gained included:

• ShotSpotter: 8.4%
• Sturm Ruger: 2%
• American Outdoor Brands (formerly Smith & Wesson): 1.3%

Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor Brands reversed their gains within an hour of the market open. ShotSpotter, a maker of gunshot detection software, went public on June 8 and reached an all-time high during the rally.

Gun stocks tend to rally after mass-shooting incidents. During the Obama administration, heightened conversation about gun control raised speculation that people would want to buy firearms sooner rather than later before any regulations were tightened.

In its first-quarter earnings released last month, Sturm Ruger indicated that demand from gun retailers fell after a period of stronger-than-normal demand that was likely caused by political campaigning for the November elections.

The broader market was little changed on ahead of the Federal Reserve's expected interest-rate increase later on Wednesday.

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