TLDR
- Democrats won both the House and Senate, setting up a divided government.
- Dow futures rose 0.6%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures were near flat.
- AMD rose about 6% premarket on a Q3 earnings beat, while Nvidia and Micron fell more than 1%.
- Brent crude dropped 0.9% to near $103.40 after Trump linked election losses to gas prices.
- Arm, McDonaldâs, Qualcomm, Novo Nordisk and Uber report earnings, and jobs data is due Friday.
US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday after Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. The result sets up a divided government in Washington.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.6%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures traded just above the flat line.
Markets quickly repriced the Democratic sweep. Traders focused on ballot measures and newly elected officials who could restrict data center construction.
Chip Stocks Split After the Vote
Advanced Micro Devices rose about 6% in premarket trading. The chipmaker posted a third-quarter earnings beat.
Nvidia and Micron Technology moved the other way. Both fell more than 1% as investors weighed the data center news.
Data centers are large buildings that house the computers used to run artificial intelligence. Chipmakers sell many of the parts inside them.
Investors are also watching for actions on housing and pharmaceuticals after the election. Both areas were flagged as ones to follow.
Yahoo Financeâs Jared Blikre noted on Tuesday that midterm elections have a history of shaping stock performance in the near term. He said they do not move markets much over the long term.
Oil Falls as Trump Points to Gas Prices
Crude oil prices turned lower on Wednesday morning. Brent crude dropped 0.9% to near $103.40 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.7% to around $95.90. Both benchmarks follow a sharp 7% drop on Monday.
President Donald Trump linked Republican losses to high pump prices and the war with Iran. He said voters were not willing to pay more for gasoline in the short term.
âPeople agree with what Iâm doing on Iran, but they really probably werenât willing to do the short-term consequence of paying more for gasoline,â Trump said. He called the price surge a âshort-term problem for long-term gain.â
Trump also described the night as ânot that pleasantâ for his party. Democrats are expected to increase scrutiny of the administrationâs Middle East policy and push for steps to cool fuel prices.
Energy costs remain a steady part of consumer inflation. That keeps pressure on the Federal Reserve, and odds of a December interest rate hike remain high.
The economic calendar on Wednesday includes S&P and ISM activity data. ADPâs private payrolls report will show the state of the âlow hire, low fireâ labor market.
Arm Holdings, McDonaldâs, Qualcomm, Novo Nordisk and Uber Technologies also report earnings. Their results offer more data on consumer health and AI demand.
Traders are also looking ahead to Fridayâs October nonfarm payrolls report. Oil prices and rate hike odds remain in focus before it arrives.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
