US MARKET CLOSE | Dow Surges Over 1,500 Points as Political Uncertainty Clears, AI Stocks Slide, Oil Tumbles Over 8%
US stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday as Democrats secured a decisive victory in the midterm elections and Trump accepted the results, removing the political uncertainty that had loomed over Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1,569.40 points, or 3.03%, to 53,356.12, reclaiming the 53,000 threshold for the first time since September 8 and posting its best single-day performance since April 9, 2025. The S&P 500 rose 119.70 points, or 1.58%, to 7,688.62, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 364.50 points, or 1.44%, to 25,736.51. Major technology shares broadly advanced, with Microsoft and Amazon each rising more than 6%, Apple up more than 5%, Google up more than 3%, and Meta up more than 1%. AI-related stocks moved against the tide, with NVIDIA falling more than 3%. In the storage sector, Seagate Technology dropped more than 8%, Micron Technology and SanDisk each fell 7%, and Western Digital declined more than 6%. Among cloud service providers, CoreWeave plunged more than 9% and NEBIUS fell more than 7%. Optical communication stocks also slid, with Marvell Technology and Lumentum each down more than 7%, and Coherent and Corning each falling more than 5%. The midterm results also raised hopes for ending Middle East conflicts, sending oil prices plunging. December West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $7.97 to settle at $88.12 per barrel, a decline of 8.29%, while January Brent crude futures dropped $8.98 to settle at $94.62 per barrel, down 8.67%. "The pressure to end the war is only going to be greater," said Peter Boockvar, Chief Investment Officer at One Point BFG Wealth Partners. "The American public has clearly expressed dissatisfaction with inflation, gas prices, and the like. Maybe this will push the war to an end. We will have to see." Trump told media he was "absolutely willing" to accept the election results and said he and Republicans would work with Democrats. Before the election, investors had worried that a Democratic sweep could drag down certain market segments, particularly stocks tied to AI infrastructure. Concerns intensified on Wednesday after Gina Hinojosa, a candidate for Texas governor who promised to immediately pause construction at key data center hubs, won her race. Investors will also watch for policy actions on housing and pharmaceuticals in the coming weeks. On the economic front, ISM and S&P data showed US services activity expansion slowed in October as companies continued to deal with elevated costs, while ADP reported that private sector hiring remained solid in October with "reasonably robust" job growth, according to Sina Finance.
