Democrats Win Congress as Stock Futures Erase Overnight Losses, the Dollar Slides and Gold Tops $4,000

Democrats won control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, setting up divided government for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term and triggering sharp swings in financial markets overnight. U.S. stock index futures fell steeply as results came in, then reversed into solid gains by early Wednesday, November 4, 2026, while the dollar weakened, Treasury yields eased and gold climbed back above $4,000 an ounce.

According to Associated Press counts cited by Investing.com early Wednesday, Democrats held 53 Senate seats to 42 for Republicans, with five races still to be called. In the House, Democrats had won 221 seats, above the 218 needed for a majority, against 129 for Republicans, with 95 races still uncalled.

Upsets in Texas

Some of the most closely watched results came from Texas. CNBC reported that Democrat James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from the state in nearly four decades, and that Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming the first Democratic governor of Texas since Ann Richards left office in 1995.

The governor's race drew attention from investors because of its potential effect on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Hinojosa has called for an immediate moratorium on data centers in Texas and an end to tax incentives for their construction, according to CNBC's live market coverage, which cited a Wells Fargo estimate that Texas accounts for about 27% of U.S. data center capacity measured in gigawatts.

Trump said in interviews overnight that he "will work with the Democrats on many things" and that he is "absolutely willing to accept" the results, CNBC reported. He also said the war with Iran played a role in his party's losses, telling an interviewer that "people were probably not willing to accept the short-term consequences of the price of gasoline."

Futures swing from losses to gains

Overnight, Nasdaq-100 futures fell as much as 2.4% and S&P 500 futures dropped as much as 1.4%, Reuters reported in a story published by USA Today. CNBC said Nasdaq-100 futures touched 27,615.75, their lowest level since July 30. Futures then recovered after Trump said he would accept the outcome.

By about 7:02 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were at 52,720, about 825 points or 1.6% above Tuesday's settlement of 51,895, according to Yahoo Finance data. S&P 500 futures were up about 1.1% at 7,679.25, and Nasdaq-100 futures were up about 0.8% at 28,519.25. Futures prices are not final and can change before the 9:30 a.m. ET open.

On Tuesday, before most results were known, the Dow fell 197.26 points, or 0.38%, to 51,786.72, while the S&P 500 rose 0.36% to 7,568.92 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.83% to 25,372.01, according to Capital Market.

"Markets like gridlock, they don't like a party with too much power," Andrew Slimmon of Morgan Stanley Investment Management told CNBC. Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, told Reuters that Trump's acceptance of the result "has helped ease some concerns about prolonged political confrontation and legislative gridlock," while noting that his veto power means significant policy disagreements remain likely.

Sector moves in premarket trading

Premarket moves reflected expectations about policy under a Democratic Congress. CNBC reported that shares of Elon Musk's SpaceX fell 4.8% and Tesla shed 4.9% in early premarket trading, while neocloud operator CoreWeave fell 3.6%. Renewable energy stocks rose, with First Solar up 8.5% and Plug Power up 10.6%, and health insurers and hospital operators also gained, including Molina Healthcare, up 6.3%. Reuters reported that data center-related shares such as IREN, Hut 8 and Applied Digital traded lower.

Dollar, bonds and gold

The dollar fell against most major currencies. CNBC reported the dollar index down 0.39% at 101.32, with the euro at $1.1235 and the British pound at $1.3476. CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter said the dollar had fallen to a one-month low.

Treasury yields declined as investors sought safety during the overnight sell-off in equity futures. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell nearly 5 basis points to 4.902% at one point before paring the move, CNBC reported. Reuters said investors are also watching the effect on the U.S. fiscal picture, since political gridlock may make it harder to agree on new government spending.

Precious metals rallied. Spot gold was 2.93% higher at $4,043.45 an ounce by 5:05 a.m. ET, and spot silver rose 4.44% to $51.98, according to CNBC.

Global markets and today's calendar

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell more than 4% during the session on worries about curbs on AI-related construction before paring losses to close 1.42% lower at 62,188.63, CNBC reported. Mainland China's CSI 300 rose 2.31%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index gained 0.44% in early trading, led by banks.

Investors in the U.S. are also watching economic data due Wednesday. According to Yahoo Finance, economists expect ADP to report a gain of 70,000 private-sector jobs for October, following 90,000 in the prior month, and expect the ISM services index to come in at 54.7, compared with 54.9 previously. Companies scheduled to report earnings include Arm Holdings, McDonald's, Qualcomm, Novo Nordisk and Uber Technologies.