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The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a sharply higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to see initial strength following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.<\/p>\n
The futures came under pressure overnight in reaction to the Democrats’ decisive victory in the midterm elections but have shown a substantial turnaround as trade digest the results.<\/p>\n
Democrats are projected to win control of both the House and Senate after flipping several seats in traditionally Republican states.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump’s apparent willingness to accept the results and work with Democrats to address political issues may have helped offset concerns about increased regulatory scrutiny under a Democrat-controlled Congress.<\/p>\n
“Despite losing Republican control of Congress, Trump indicated that he was willing to work with Democrats and potentially reach agreements on key issues,” said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.<\/p>\n
She added, “This has helped ease some concerns about prolonged political confrontation and legislative gridlock, although his continued veto powers mean significant policy disagreements remain likely.”<\/p>\n
After turning mixed over the course of the previous session, the major U.S. stock indexes once again moved in opposite directions during trading on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
While the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rebounded following Monday’s significant downturn, the narrower Dow moved back to the downside.<\/p>\n
The Nasdaq advanced 207.65 points or 0.8 percent to 25,372.01 and the S&P 500 rose 27.52 points or 0.4 percent to 7,568.92, but the Dow fell 197.26 points or 0.4 percent to 51,786.72.<\/p>\n
The pullback by the Dow partly reflected a notable decline by shares of Apple (AAPL), which closed well off their lows of the session but still slumped by 1.9 percent.<\/p>\n
Apple came under pressure after the iPhone maker posted increased quarterly revenue and profits but forecast slightly below consensus gross margin for the current quarter.<\/p>\n
Sherwin-Williams (SHW), Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) also gave back ground after leading the blue chip index higher on Monday.<\/p>\n
Despite the drop by Apple, technology<\/span> stocks showed a strong move back to the upside after coming under pressure during Monday’s session.<\/p>\n The sharp pullback seen yesterday extended the sell-off seen last Thursday and Friday, dragging the tech-heavy Nasdaq down to its lowest closing level in three months.<\/p>\n Semiconductor stocks helped lead the tech sector higher, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.6 percent after ending the previous session at a six-month closing low.<\/p>\n Computer hardware, software and networking stocks also saw considerable strength following recent weakness.<\/p>\n Outside of the tech sector, housing stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 3.2 percent.<\/p>\n Airline, gold and oil service stocks also saw significant weakness, partly offsetting the strength in the tech sector.<\/p>\n Commodity, Currency Markets<\/b> <\/p>\n Crude oil futures are tumbling $1.71 to $94.38 a barrel after falling $0.37 to $96.09 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,048, up $107.60 compared to the previous session’s close of $3,940.40. On Tuesday, gold slid $29.20.<\/p>\n On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.35 yen compared to the 158.66 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1265 compared to yesterday’s $1.1193.<\/p>\n Asia<\/b><\/p>\n Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after Democrats took control of both houses of Congress in a dramatic win in the U.S. midterm elections, raising uncertainty over tech regulation, trade policy and the U.S. budget deficit.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, after a gauge of U.S. job openings exceeded economist estimates, the probability of the Fed hiking rates by 25 basis points in December rose to 80 percent in money markets<\/span>.<\/p>\n Gold prices jumped more than 2 percent to hold above $4,000 an ounce in Asian trading, driven by a softer dollar and lower Treasury yields.<\/p>\n The U.S. dollar dropped against all of its Group-of-10 peers, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury note declined seven basis points to 4.89 percent as a commanding “blue wave” forced traders to rethink Trump’s remaining policy agenda and the political trajectory into 2028.<\/p>\n Brent crude futures were modestly higher at $103.76 a barrel after seeing sharp swings in the previous session amid uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran peace talks.<\/p>\n Qatar said it saw hope for an interim deal as both the U.S. and Iran evaluate new proposals put forward by mediators, despite fresh U.S. strikes and continued threats to shipping through Hormuz.<\/p>\n However, Iran’s national security chief indicated in a social media post that Washington’s response to Iran’s demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming peace talks was insufficient.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that he is “not looking to kill lots of people” in Iran following the midterm elections but warned Washington would act decisively if needed.<\/p>\n Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong markets rose as a crushing defeat for Trump in the midterm elections opened the door to legislative deadlock.<\/p>\n China’s Shanghai Composite Index rallied 2.2 percent to 3,686.17, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 1.7 percent to 23,919.50, led by technology and healthcare stocks.<\/p>\n Investors shrugged off the results of a private survey that showed China’s services sector expanded at its slowest pace in three months in October, with business<\/span> confidence easing amid fierce competition and rising costs.<\/p>\n Japanese markets fell sharply as trading resumed after a public holiday. The Nikkei 225 Index lost more than 3 percent to hit a three-month low before recovering some lost ground to settle 1.4 percent lower at 62,188.63. The broader Topix Index dropped 0.9 percent to 3,895.38.<\/p>\n Tech stocks suffered heavy losses, with Advantest, Tokyo Electron, SoftBank Group and Kioxia Holdings falling 3-5 percent on worries that Democratic control of both chambers in the U.S. could lead to tighter regulation of data center projects and slower AI infrastructure spending.<\/p>\n Seoul stocks swung between gains and losses before closing higher as battery and pharma stocks rose on hopes for policy support by the Democratic Congress in the United States. The Kospi Index climbed 0.6 percent to 5,683.80.<\/p>\n Australian markets closed lower after purchasing managers Index data showed Australia’s services sector contracted in October for the first time since May.<\/p>\n The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.6 percent to 8,834.50, dragged down by miners. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed 0.6 percent lower at 8,954.90.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P\/NZX-50 Index rose 0.5 percent to 13,783.45 as weak labor data reduced the chance of an interest rate hike early next month.<\/p>\n Europe<\/b><\/p>\n European stocks have moved sharply higher on Wednesday, with a slew of strong corporate earnings, steadier oil prices and lower bond yields helping underpin investor sentiment.<\/p>\n A cautious undertone prevailed, however, after Democrats took control of both houses of Congress in a dramatic win in the U.S. midterm elections, raising uncertainty over tech regulation, trade policy and the U.S. budget deficit.<\/p>\n Oracle has scrapped a multibillion-dollar chip leasing contract with China’s Tencent after U.S. officials raised concerns, the Financial Times reported.<\/p>\n While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 1.7 percent.<\/p>\n Technology stocks were broadly higher after AMD reported record third quarter revenue, driven by booming sales of AI chips.<\/p>\n Belgian chemicals group Solvay has also jumped after it signed a long-term agreement to secure rare earths from Brazil.<\/p>\n German car parts supplier Continental has also soared after raising its profitability outlook for 2026.<\/p>\n Online classifieds company Scout24 has also surged after its third quarter results beat expectations.<\/p>\n Healthcare group Fresenius has also shown a notable move to the upside after raising its full-year earnings outlook.<\/p>\n Novo Nordisk has also rallied. The Danish pharmaceutical giant raised its full-year 2026 sales and operating profit outlook after delivering stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings.<\/p>\n Jewelry manufacturer and retailer Pandora has also spiked after lifting its revenue and operating margin guidance for 2026.<\/p>\n Marks & Spencer Group shares have also advanced. The retailer reported a sharp rise in half-year profit despite the “onslaught of cost headwinds” facing the industry.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Trainline shares have tumbled in London. The rail ticket retailer said its first-half profit dropped from last year.<\/p>\n U.S. Economic News<\/b><\/p>\n Payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing private sector employment in the U.S. grew by more than expected in the month of October.<\/p>\n The report said private sector employment climbed by 86,000 jobs in October, matching a downwardly revised increase in September.<\/p>\n Economists had expected private sector employment to rise by 70,000 jobs compared to the addition of 90,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n ADP said hiring showed solid growth for a second month but noted were weak spots, with the professional and business services sectors losing jobs for the third straight month.<\/p>\n With exports increasing by more than imports, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly shrank in the month of September.<\/p>\n The Commerce Department said the trade deficit narrowed to $105.0 billion in September from a revised $105.7 billion in August.<\/p>\n Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to $107.9 billion from the $105.6 billion originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n The decrease in the size of the trade deficit came as the value of exports surged by 1.9 percent to $321.5 billion, while the value of imports jumped by 1.2 percent to $426.6 billion.<\/p>\n At 10 am ET, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on service sector activity in the month of October. The services PMI is expected to edge down to 54.7 in October from 54.9 in September, although a reading above 50 would still indicate growth.<\/p>\n The Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended October 30th at 10:30 am ET. Crude oil inventories are expected to inch up by 0.9 million barrels after falling by 1.5 million barrels in the previous week. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n