By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, November 5 (Radarr Africa) – US stocks rebounded from overnight losses on Wednesday after Democrats won a historic midterm victory and will control both chambers of Congress from early next year, according to a market update from Charles Schwab published on November 4.
The update, written by Joe Mazzola, said outcomes were “beyond dispute across most states”. At the time of writing, at 9:12 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 stood at 7,568.92, up 0.36 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite at 25,372.01, up 0.83 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 51,786.72, down 0.38 per cent. Radarr Africa reported on November 4 that stocks and the dollar had slid as early results pointed to Democratic gains.
The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) fell 11.19 per cent to 18.50, from highs near 22 the previous day. Schwab noted that readings above 20 signal uncertainty. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.92 per cent, down 0.02 percentage points. Gold rose 2.84 per cent to $4,052.30, WTI crude fell $2.48 to $93.71, and bitcoin rose 1.24 per cent to $78,293.
Michael Townsend, Schwab’s managing director of legislative and regulatory affairs, said: “The scope of the Democratic victory exceeded even the wildest of predictions.” He said markets generally welcome gridlock because it limits sweeping policy changes. Schwab also suggested that a divided government could restrain spending and help keep Treasury yields in check.
Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, said tariffs remain largely a presidential lever, meaning the election result may not change trade policy directly.
Chip stocks initially fell on concerns about more data centre regulation, Schwab said, while health care and alternative energy shares rose. First Solar rose almost 7 per cent and Enphase Energy more than 3.5 per cent. HCA Healthcare rose 5 per cent, while UnitedHealth fell more than 2 per cent.
Among individual movers, Tesla and SpaceX fell 5 per cent and 6 per cent respectively amid concerns about investigations involving chief executive Elon Musk. CoreWeave fell 6.6 per cent and Oracle fell 4 per cent. Block rose 9 per cent after a solid earnings report, and McDonald’s rose 2 per cent despite a revenue miss. CVS Health fell 2 per cent despite beating estimates; it plans to split into two public companies by the first half of 2028.
Earnings remained supportive. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reported earnings of $2.09 a share, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.95, on revenue of $13.45 billion, up 45 per cent from a year earlier and above the $13.1 billion estimate. Super Micro Computer and Arista Networks also beat estimates, and Nvidia reports later this month. Information technology led third-quarter earnings growth, according to FactSet, while materials, industrials, communication services, utilities and real estate posted double-digit gains.
Schwab flagged data due this week. ADP reported 86,000 private-sector jobs added in October, near expectations. Nonfarm payrolls, due on Friday, are expected at 65,000, and third-quarter productivity data due on Thursday are forecast near 3.1 per cent year on year, after 1.4 per cent growth in the second quarter.
The update did not say which chamber margins were final, and the full congressional tallies were not given.
