The Nasdaq, Dow and S&P 500 opened higher after Democrats won a landslide victory in the US midterm elections and President Trump accepted the election results.
Published November 4, 2026
U.S. markets are trending higher after Democrats took control of the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
When markets opened at 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 GMT) on Wednesday, the Nasdaq was up 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.8% and the S&P 500 was up 1.1%.
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Import-dependent retailers such as Walmart and Target rose 1.3% and 3.3%, respectively, on the back of possible changes in tariff policy.
Health insurer UnitedHealthcare fell 2.9%, and CVS Health fell 12%. Meanwhile, Cigna rose 1.6%.
Investor sentiment was also boosted by US President Donald Trump posting on social media that he accepted the results, easing political uncertainty and pressure on the market.
The outlook is different for companies involved in building artificial intelligence (AI), as Democrats have stepped up their criticism of the field.
Oracle and Nvidia both opened lower, but Google’s parent company Alphabet was trending higher, rising 3.5% at the opening bell.
“There is no way to surface that there will be significant hurdles for AI and technology legislation on Belt and Road over the next two years, especially with Democrats in control of the Senate,” Yorkville Ives managing partner Dan Ives said in a note Wednesday.
“We estimate that 10% of data centers will never materialize now,” Ives added in a post to X.
Democrats fared well in states with significant AI increases, such as Ohio, where Sherrod Brown flipped his Senate seat. In Texas, Democrats won a Senate seat with James Talarico. Gina Hinojosa won the gubernatorial election, reversing the seat.
Crude oil prices are also on a downward trend. Global benchmark Brent crude oil futures fell $3.20, or 3.09%, to $100.40 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell $3.01, or 3.13%, to $93.08.
While oil prices are reacting to the interim results, investors are also keeping an eye on whether the war with Iran and the war between Russia and Ukraine will end amid reports of talks after oil prices hit a four-week low in the previous session.
