US-based video game maker stocks take hit after Trump blames industry for mass shootings

The shares of some of the biggest names in the video-game industry took a hit after US President Donald Trump partially blamed the industry for contributing to a culture of violence that results in mass shootings, stock prices showed, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

The shares of Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive Software, all US-based companies, each fell by about 5 percent following the president’s remarks on Monday.

Activision Blizzard, the maker of video-game series "Call of Duty," took the biggest hit of the three, seeing its stock price decreasing by nearly 6 percent to a close of $46.10. Electronic Arts shares fell 4.6 percent to $88.59, while Two-Take Interactive's declined by 5.2 percent to $115.38.

Trump said during his remarks at the White House that US society must stop the glorification of violence.

"This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace," he said.

The decline among video-game makers was in line with the overall stock market trend. The US stock markets had their worst day of the year, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 767 points. The S&P 500, down by 3 percent, and the Nasdaq, down 3.5 percent, didn't fare much better.

The reason for the sell-off was the escalation in the trade war between the US and China, according to media reports.

On Monday, China backed away from its commitment to purchase more US agricultural products and devalued the yuan for the first time in a decade to bellow the seven-to-one ratio with the US dollar.