{"id":74041,"date":"2026-11-02T20:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T00:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-brace-for-us-midterms-as-disney-and-oracle-signal-corporate-shifts\/74041\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T20:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T00:38:13","slug":"global-markets-brace-for-us-midterms-as-disney-and-oracle-signal-corporate-shifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-brace-for-us-midterms-as-disney-and-oracle-signal-corporate-shifts\/74041\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Brace for US Midterms as Disney and Oracle Signal Corporate Shifts"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Walt Disney Co. (<a href=\"\/stock\/DIS\">DIS<\/a>) is reportedly preparing for thousands of job cuts<\/strong>, with management instructed to target a <strong>20% reduction<\/strong> in annual costs as the company centralizes operations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) shares fell over 4%<\/strong> following a dual filing to raise <strong>$20 billion<\/strong> through a $10 billion stock sale and a $10 billion bond offering to fund AI infrastructure.<\/li>\n<li><strong>South Korea\u2019s KOSPI lagged Asian peers<\/strong>, dropping as much as <strong>5.7% intraday<\/strong> as a correction in the Nasdaq 100 and persistent weakness in US technology stocks triggered local sell-side circuit breakers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japan is set to implement uniform safety standards for Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles<\/strong> without steering wheels or pedals starting in December, aiming for 10,000 robotaxis by 2030.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Donald Trump will host an Election Night viewing at the White House<\/strong> on November 3 at 7:00 PM ET as voters decide the balance of power in the 2026 US midterm elections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Corporate Restructuring and Capital Raises<\/h2>\n<p>Walt Disney Co. (<a href=\"\/stock\/DIS\">DIS<\/a>) is intensifying its cost-cutting efforts, with reports indicating the entertainment giant is eyeing <strong>thousands of additional layoffs<\/strong>. Managers have been tasked with achieving <strong>20% in annual cost savings<\/strong> as President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden moves to centralize the business and eliminate &quot;silos&quot; created by years of acquisitions. This follows previous rounds of cuts in 2026 that have already impacted human resources, technology, and the Disney Experiences segment.<\/p>\n<p>Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) has moved to secure <strong>$20 billion in new funding<\/strong> to support its aggressive expansion into artificial intelligence data centers. The company filed to sell <strong>$10 billion in common stock<\/strong> at a reported <strong>11% discount<\/strong> alongside a <strong>$10 billion bond sale<\/strong> consisting of six tranches. The massive capital raise has sparked investor concerns regarding shareholder dilution and rising debt levels, particularly as Oracle reported negative free cash flow of <strong>$5.4 billion<\/strong> in its most recent quarter.<\/p>\n<h2>Global Market Volatility and Macro Outlook<\/h2>\n<p>Asian markets traded with mixed results on Tuesday as the <strong>Nasdaq 100 entered a correction phase<\/strong>, weighing heavily on technology-sensitive indices. South Korea&#39;s KOSPI was the primary laggard, hit by a sharp selloff in semiconductor leaders Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. <em>Market participation remained muted<\/em> globally as Japanese markets were closed for a holiday and investors turned their focus toward the <strong>US midterm elections<\/strong>, which will determine control of both the House and Senate.<\/p>\n<p>In Hong Kong, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue expressed optimism regarding the city&#39;s economic trajectory, stating he expects a <strong>&quot;nice&quot; performance<\/strong> from the Exchange Fund. Yue noted that today&#39;s <strong>Q3 GDP growth figures<\/strong> for Hong Kong are expected to be positive, driven by robust exports and domestic demand. He also highlighted the transformative impact of AI on financial markets while warning that current &quot;exuberant&quot; market conditions may mask underlying vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n<h2>Technological and Political Developments<\/h2>\n<p>The Japanese government is finalizing plans to revise automobile safety standards to allow for the <strong>mass production of vehicles without steering wheels or pedals<\/strong>. According to Nikkei, the new uniform certification process for Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles will begin in December. This regulatory shift is intended to lower production costs and accelerate the deployment of <strong>robotaxis<\/strong>, with a national target of 10,000 autonomous units in operation by fiscal year 2030.<\/p>\n<p>On the political front, President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend an <strong>Election Night viewing at the White House<\/strong> starting at 7:00 PM ET on Tuesday. The 2026 midterms are being closely watched by global markets as a referendum on the administration&#39;s economic policies. <em>Analysts suggest that the outcome could lead to significant shifts in trade policy and fiscal spending<\/em>, particularly as both parties vie for control of a deeply divided Congress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Walt Disney Co. (DIS) is reportedly preparing for thousands of job cuts, with management instructed to target a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[6120,6568,6885,8047,13850,23139],"class_list":["post-74041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-oracle-orcl-stock-orcl","tag-autonomous-vehicles","tag-asian-equities","tag-disney-dis-stock-dis","tag-hong-kong-economy","tag-us-midterm-elections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}