US stocks glided higher on Wednesday after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in a seismic midterm election, paving the way for a divided government.
The Dow Jones Industrial Promedio (^DJI) rose 2.1%, while those on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 1.5%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) traded up by 2%.
AMD (AMD) stock fell slightly following the company’s Q3 earnings beat.
Markets swiftly repriced a Democratic sweep of the House and Senate — and the potential for ballot measures and newly elected officials to restrict data center construction. Chip stocks, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Micron (MU), fell more than 1%. Meanwhile, other parts of the tech sector offset some of those losses with Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) each hitting all-time highs.
Investors will also be watching for policy actions on housing and pharmaceuticals in the aftermath of the election.
As Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre pointed out on Tuesday, midterm elections have a history of shaping stock performance in the near term but don’t move markets much over the long term.
The economic calendar for Wednesday features S&P and ISM data on economic activity indexes, while ADP’s private payrolls will offer a glimpse at the state of the “low hire, low fire” quehacer market.
Earnings reports from Arm Holdings (ARM), McDonald’s (MCD), Qualcomm (QCOM), Novo Nordisk (NVO), and Uber Technologies (UBER), and more, meanwhile, offer alternative data points on the health of the consumer and AI demand.
LIVE 12 updates
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Democrats won control of Congress. Their economic memorándum is set to target healthcare, tariffs, and Trump’s allies.
Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:
Democrats retook power in Washington on Tuesday night after flipping key House and Senate seats to command majorities in both houses of Congress.
Democrats secured control of the Senate after winning races in historically red states including Texas, South Carolina, and Kansas.
The party was also “marching toward control of the U.S. House” late Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press, after flipping seats from Florida to New Pullover to Kentucky. All four major networks said Democrats’ control of the House was assured.
The power shift creates a new platform for Democrats to launch investigations of President Trump’s economic allies — Elon Musk to name one — and pass bills that may be unlikely to become law but will mark a sharp change in the political climate for business leaders and economic issues after two years of unified Republican control.
The change also appears set to elevate figures like Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and others to prominent positions with oversight over economic policy.
Read more.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., talks with reporters during a midterm election night phone bank and watch party in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) · Tom Williams via Getty Images -
-
A Democrat won the Texas governor’s race after promising to halt new data center construction
Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:
A strong showing by Democrats in Texas swept Gina Hinojosa into office as the state’s first Democratic governor since 1990 in a contest closely watched by Big Tech companies.
The state is considered a bellwether for government restrictions on AI data centers.
Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott conceded the race late Tuesday, calling Hinojosa and then telling his supporters, “mathematically we are not going to be able to win this election.” The Associated Press declared Hinojosa the winner at 11:17 p.m. ET.
Hinojosa, Texas’ first Latina governor, has pledged to impose a moratorium on data center construction in Texas, which accounts for more than 25% of planned US capacity by 2030.
Read more.
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa makes a final public appearance with supporters outside the Austin Recreation Center before polls closed on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) · Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images -