The Nov. 3 U.S. midterm election results flipped control in both chambers of Congress, putting Democrats in the lead.
- Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats, 24 House districts, five governorships, and twelve state legislative chambers.
- They secured an early reported majority of at least 231–141 in the House and 54–44 in the Senate.
- Oil prices declined sharply as expectations for the end of the Iran war rose.
U.S. stock futures were mixed overnight late Wednesday as markets awaited the final results of the November midterms even as the Democrats swept both chambers of Congress.
As of 09:30 p.m. EST, Dow futures gained 0.24%, while the S&P 500 futures were down 0.04% and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.46%.
On Wednesday, all three U.S. benchmark indexes rallied on the blue tidal wave. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the climb, adding more than 1,500 points to close 3% higher. The S&P 500 gained 1.58% at close, while the Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.44%.
| Index | Move | Close |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 3.03% | 53,356.12 |
| S&P 500 | 1.58% | 7,688.62 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.44% | 25,736.51 |
Key US Market Drivers
Markets welcomed a Democratic victory in early voting counts on Wednesday, sending stocks higher on anticipation of a potential end to the Iran war and expectations of an improvement in economic policy as well as an end to Trump’s tariffs.
The Nov. 3 U.S. midterm election results flipped control in both chambers of Congress, with Democrats in the lead.
While final results are still being counted, Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats, 24 House districts, five governorships, and twelve state legislative chambers, securing an early reported majority of at least 231–141 in the House and 54–44 in the Senate. Key red states including Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, and Kansas also flipped blue, making history.
Consumer discretionary names such as Walmart gained following the initial counting. However, AI-lined and data center build-out names trended lower as markets expect a pullback in support to the industry amid Democratic leadership.
Yorkville Advisors partner and managing director Dan Ives said in a post on X, “Democratic blue tidal wave across the Senate and House was a seismic shift that will have a negative impact on the pace of the AI Revolution buildout in the US over the next few years. Will slow the pace of the planned 800 to 1,000 datacenters across the US fueling the AI Revolution…some investors will like the “slower pace”…others view it as adding risk. We estimate 10% of datacenters will not happen now.”
However, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee took an opposing stance, saying in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that Democratic gains in the midterms could prove positive for stocks and lead to a 15-20% rally in tech stocks, calling Wednesday’s tech selloff a “knee-jerk reaction.”
Oil prices declined sharply as expectations over the end of the Iran war rose. Brent crude futures were trading at $93.91 a barrel, down about 0.75%, while WTI crude futures traded 1% lower at $87.24 per barrel.
Markets will now be watching for weekly jobless claims data and October’s nonfarm payrolls report later this week.
On the earnings front, Toyota Motor Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Sony Group, Airbnb, and Cloudflare are among the top companies reporting their quarterly results on Thursday.
Trending Tickers To Watch
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): The AI darling was on top of the retail radar after a 3% decline in shares as investors were concerned about tighter AI data center rules and delays in AI buildouts amid a Democratic win.
Micron Technology Inc. (MU): The chipmaker’s stock plunged 7% at close on Wednesday and continued to decline overnight amid growing concerns for AI-linked names following the early midterm election results.
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK): The memory stock plunged nearly 8% at close on Wednesday and dipped further overnight amid similar concerns for tightened AI policy following a blue tidal wave.
Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS): The election results also weighed on shares of this AI infrastructure company, with the stock dropping more than 6% at close and down by nearly 3% overnight.
IREN Ltd. (IREN): The company garnered attention after The Information reported on Wednesday that Microsoft's lower-than-expected AI data center spending was partially caused by the delays from the Australian cloud computing infrastructure provider.
Other Market Trends
Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) were down at the time of writing, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) edged higher.
Meanwhile, long-term Treasury yields eased late Wednesday, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield trading at 4.853%, while the 30-year yield was at 5.243%.
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was up 0.48% amid ‘bearish’ sentiment.
Asian markets opened mixed on Thursday. South Korea's KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were trading lower at the time of writing. Meanwhile, China’s SSE Composite and Australian stocks edged higher at the open.
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