Opening Comment — Wednesday, November 04, 2026
DJIA: 51,786.72, down 197.26
S&P 500: 7,568.92, up 27.52
NASDAQ: 25,372.01, up 207.65
Stocks higher after midterm results
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as investors digested the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections. The Democratic Party won control in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to the Associated Press, though the exact size of the majorities has yet to be determined as votes continue to be counted. Market participants are also awaiting the U.S. Treasury’s quarterly refunding announcement, alongside October’s Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) and the ADP National Employment Report. As of 7:21 AM ET, the Dow is rising 1.6%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.9%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Tuesday as September’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed job openings coming in higher than expected at 7.523 million, while factory orders increased a stronger-than-projected 1.8% month-over-month (MOM), following an upwardly revised 0.3% gain in the prior month. The Dow was down 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%. The S&P 500 increased 0.4% with four of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 1.3%, while the Materials sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.9%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 1.2% for the week ending October 30 versus the prior week’s increase of 3.4%. The ADP National Employment Report for October is expected to show private nonfarm job gains of 67,000 versus the prior month’s 90,000. The U.S. trade deficit is expected to expand in September to $107.9 billion from the prior month’s $105.6 billion, with exports and imports projected to show increases of 1.8% and 1.5% MOM, respectively, versus the prior month’s increases of 1.4% and 4.3%, respectively. S&P Global’s finalized services PMI for October is expected to remain unchanged from the preliminary reading of 57.9, while the composite PMI is expected to be revised lower to 57.3 from 57.6. The Institute for Supply Management’s October services PMI and the prices paid component are expected to register 54.8 and 74.6, respectively, versus the prior month’s 54.9 and 74.0, respectively. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 1.70 million barrels for the week ending October 30 versus the prior week’s decrease of 1.89 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s preliminary October Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to an as-expected 0.4% MOM, while headline CPI accelerated to 4.0% year-over-year (YOY) and core CPI remained unchanged at 2.5% YOY, both in line with expectations. October’s finalized services PMIs for the eurozone, the U.K., and France were revised lower to 51.4, 52.8, and 46.2, respectively. Meanwhile, Germany’s finalized services PMI was revised higher to 52.5 in October.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s October RatingDog services PMI unexpectedly declined to 50.8, while the composite PMI declined to 52.0. Australia’s September household spending rose a stronger-than-expected 0.6% MOM, while the YOY reading came in at 6.8%. The country’s finalized October services and composite PMIs were revised upward to 48.5 and 48.2, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of today’s U.S. PMI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.0% lower at $95.11/barrel and Brent crude oil is down 1.4% at $102.13/barrel as markets assess prospects for peace talks in the Middle East.
In the metals complex, gold is 2.8% higher at $4,040.46/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.