{"id":74171,"date":"2026-11-04T21:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T01:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-rally-as-u-s-midterms-deliver-democratic-sweep-oil-plunges\/74171\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T21:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T01:08:14","slug":"global-markets-rally-as-u-s-midterms-deliver-democratic-sweep-oil-plunges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-rally-as-u-s-midterms-deliver-democratic-sweep-oil-plunges\/74171\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Rally as U.S. Midterms Deliver Democratic Sweep; Oil Plunges"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. Democrats secured control of both the House and Senate<\/strong> in the 2026 midterm elections, a &quot;Blue Tsunami&quot; that triggered a sharp <strong>8-9% drop in global <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a><\/strong> on hopes of a de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wall Street indices surged<\/strong>, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (<a href=\"\/stock\/DIA\">DIA<\/a>) rising over <strong>3% (1,569 points)<\/strong>, while the <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPY\">SPY<\/a>) gained <strong>1.6%<\/strong> as investors embraced the prospect of legislative gridlock.<\/li>\n<li><strong>South Korea&#39;s KOSPI slumped 1.82%<\/strong> at the open, bucking the global trend as semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics (<a href=\"\/stock\/005930\">005930<\/a>) and SK Hynix (<a href=\"\/stock\/000660\">000660<\/a>) fell on fears of tighter AI data-center regulations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japan&#39;s 20-year government bond yield retreated 2 bps to 3.64%<\/strong> following the oil price collapse, even as Bank of Japan (BoJ) minutes signaled a continued appetite for rate hikes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Australia reported a massive trade surplus of A$2,826M<\/strong> for September, far exceeding the estimated A$1,000M, driven by a <strong>2.3% rise in exports<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>U.S. Midterm Results Reshape Global Sentiment<\/h2>\n<p>The Democratic Party&#39;s decisive victory in the U.S. midterm elections has fundamentally shifted market expectations for the remainder of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term. Investors are betting that a <strong>divided government will restrain turbulent trade and fiscal policies<\/strong>, leading to a &quot;risk-on&quot; environment for equities. The U.S. dollar weakened against major peers, hitting a one-month low, while <strong>10-year Treasury yields softened to 4.88%<\/strong> as the prospect of aggressive fiscal expansion dimmed.<\/p>\n<p>The most immediate impact was felt in the energy sector, where <strong>Brent crude tumbled below $95 a barrel<\/strong>. Markets are pricing in a higher probability of a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing war in Iran under a Democrat-led Congress. This decline in energy costs has provided a tailwind for most Asian markets, with Japan\u2019s TOPIX gaining <strong>2.1%<\/strong> and Australia\u2019s S&amp;P\/ASX 200 rising <strong>1.3%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Tech and AI Infrastructure Face Regulatory Headwinds<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the broad market rally, the technology sector\u2014particularly AI infrastructure\u2014is facing renewed scrutiny. <strong>Citrini Research<\/strong> issued a report calling a &quot;peak&quot; on AI infrastructure spending, suggesting that the era of &quot;mega-commitments&quot; from hyperscalers may be slowing. This sentiment, combined with fears that a Democratic Congress will impose <strong>stricter regulations on AI data centers<\/strong>, sent the PHLX Semiconductor Index (<a href=\"\/stock\/SOX\">SOX<\/a>) to a six-month low.<\/p>\n<p>In Seoul, the impact was severe. Samsung Electronics (<a href=\"\/stock\/005930\">005930<\/a>) dropped <strong>3.56%<\/strong> and SK Hynix (<a href=\"\/stock\/000660\">000660<\/a>) tumbled <strong>5.8%<\/strong>, dragging the KOSPI down nearly <strong>2%<\/strong>. Investors are increasingly demanding proof of sustainable returns on trillion-dollar AI investments, a narrative that is expected to dominate through <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a>&#39;s (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> upcoming earnings report.<\/p>\n<h2>Regional Economic Data and Geopolitical Developments<\/h2>\n<p>In Japan, the <strong>S&amp;P Global Composite PMI for October was finalized at 52.1<\/strong>, slightly down from 52.3 in September, indicating a modest softening in growth momentum. However, minutes from the <strong>Bank of Japan&#39;s September meeting<\/strong> revealed that policymakers still see a need to raise interest rates, maintaining a hawkish bias. Meanwhile, Japan&#39;s government emphasized that the U.S. election results would not weaken the bilateral alliance.<\/p>\n<p>Geopolitical tensions remained elevated as <strong>multiple Ukrainian drone attacks targeted Russia&#39;s Ryazan oil refinery<\/strong>, damaging a primary crude distillation unit. Despite this, U.S. and Chinese defense officials met in Washington to pledge <strong>better communication to minimize military risks<\/strong>, marking the first meeting of a new Crisis Communications and Prevention Working Group. In the Middle East, South Korea&#39;s <strong>Cheonghae Unit<\/strong> announced it would broaden its mission into waters near the Strait of Hormuz to ensure maritime security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. Democrats secured control of both the House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, a &quot;Blue Tsunami&quot; [&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 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