Global Stocks Slump as Democrats Sweep Midterms: Nasdaq Futures Fall Over 2%, Dollar Slides, Nikkei Drops 3%

On November 4, 2026, the first Asian trading day after the U.S. midterm election results, global stocks slumped and the dollar softened. According to Reuters, Democrats scored a decisive win in the midterm elections, notching Senate victories in South Carolina, Texas and Ohio and capturing majorities in both the Senate and the House that reached deep into Republican strongholds; investors reacted by selling stocks, especially shares linked to super intelligence (SI), and rushing for the safety of bonds.

In U.S. stock futures, S&P 500 futures slid 0.6 percent, while Nasdaq futures fell more than 2 percent before cutting losses to trade down 0.8 percent. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 6 basis points to 4.906 percent as bond prices rallied. The dollar index was 0.37 percent lower at 101.34, the euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.1249 and sterling firmed 0.37 percent to $1.3464; the safe-haven yen was 0.7 percent stronger at 157.55 per dollar and the Swiss franc firmed almost 0.8 percent to 0.8144 per dollar.

In Asia, the selling was concentrated in SI and chip stocks: Japan's Nikkei fell 3 percent to an over five-month trough, led lower by SoftBank, while South Korea's KOSPI slid 1.6 percent and Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and TSMC all declined. European futures were down 1.4 percent. Strong earnings from chipmaker AMD did not offset the selloff, and cryptocurrencies fell at the prospect of stronger regulation.

Prashant Newnaha, senior rates strategist at TD Securities in Singapore, said a Democratic sweep brings tighter regulatory scrutiny of technology and SI companies along with a higher likelihood of political gridlock, adding: "Bonds are coming out as the clear winner as markets put the SI trade on the chopping block and embrace the higher possibility that further tax cuts are put on ice and government spending slows." Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said the sharper decline in Nasdaq futures reflects concerns that a shift in political control could bring greater regulatory scrutiny of SI and Big Tech. Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said the Democrats' victory in Texas is likely to weigh on chip stocks, raising fears of tighter curbs on SI data-center development in one of the fastest-growing U.S. markets for computing infrastructure.

Oil prices were choppy after sliding to a four-week low in the previous session, as investors weighed talks to end the wars in Ukraine and Iran against worries that recent attacks in both conflicts could further disrupt supplies. Prediction markets recorded more than $1.48 billion wagered on the midterm elections.

(Source: Reuters)

Source: Reuters

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 纽约证券交易所大楼立面（图：Ryan Schwark 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC0 1.0 公共领域）

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