Dow rises as investors weigh Democrats’ midterm victories

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after Democrats won control of the Senate and House of Representatives, reversing overnight losses in stock futures. The Dow climbed more than 3%, according to NBC News, while The Guardian described a rise close to 3%—its strongest day in more than a year. The different descriptions reflect the reports’ wording; neither supplies a reconciled exact figure.

At the close, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were each up about 1.5%, The Guardian reported. The Associated Press, in a report published by PBS NewsHour, put the S&P 500’s gain at 1.8%. The figures describe the day’s market response, not a settled explanation for it.

Technology shares split as investors assess the election

David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that the results removed uncertainty. He said the prospect of moderation in growth and inflation could be helping stocks rise that day. The move was not uniform across technology: CoreWeave fell 10%, and CNBC said Baird analysts called the election results a “sentiment headwind” for smaller AI cloud providers.

Local votes added another concern for AI infrastructure investors. Voters opposed data centers in 40 of 41 local ballot measures on the issue, CNBC reported. Some observers viewed those results as a potential obstacle for companies building AI-focused data centers, though the report also cited analysts who said well-capitalized operators could be better placed if projects slow in some states.

Why the rally may not signal a lasting shift

The Associated Press noted that stocks have generally performed well in the months after midterm elections regardless of which party wins. Strategists cautioned against assuming the election would drive broad-market performance over the long term: company profits and interest rates may matter more than which party controls Washington. “Earnings trump elections,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, told the AP.

Other markets moved too. Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since early October as traders assessed the election’s implications for the war in Iran, The Guardian reported. Vice President JD Vance blamed the war and its effect on oil prices for Republican losses, according to the AP; that was his explanation, not an independently established cause of the election result.

The change in Congress also leaves the president with influence over trade and tariffs, foreign policy and existing regulations, JPMorgan Asset Management strategist Tai Hui told The Guardian. Investors’ response therefore reflects expectations about policy as well as the election result, while the reports do not establish a single cause for the day’s gains.