Asian Shares and US Futures Are Mixed as Democrats Win Control of Congress

Stock markets in Asia and US futures were mixed on Wednesday after results from the US midterm elections came in. The elections showed that Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate — the two parts of Congress. Investors around the world were watching closely to see what the results might mean for the economy.

The election results were seen as a strong rejection of Republican leadership. They also signal that Congress will push back harder against President Donald Trump going forward. Markets generally prefer that control of Washington be split between the Republicans and the Democrats. That kind of split is less likely to cause big policy changes that could shake up the economy.

One expert said the Democratic gains don't change much right away. Stephen Brown of Capital Economics noted that Democrats still don't have enough Senate seats to block a filibuster — a move used to slow or stop new laws. He also pointed out that President Trump still has the power to veto, or reject, laws passed by Congress. This means big changes in policy are still unlikely in the short term.

Investors had also been focused on worries about artificial intelligence, or AI. Many technology stocks have been sold off lately because some investors think AI-related share prices have risen too fast. AI is technology that lets computers do tasks that normally require human thinking, like recognizing images or answering questions.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock index dropped 1.4% as election results came in. SoftBank Group, which has invested in AI company OpenAI, fell 3.2%. Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings tumbled 5.4% after its earnings outlook disappointed investors.

Other markets across Asia had a mixed day. South Korea's Kospi index rose 0.6%, while chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both edged lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.1%, and China's Shanghai Composite index climbed 2.2%. Australia's market fell 0.6% after the country's central bank raised interest rates.

Back in the United States on Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, even though most individual stocks inside the index fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 197 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8%. These three indexes track different groups of US stocks and are used to measure how the overall market is doing.

Chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom were the biggest forces pushing the S&P 500 higher. Big tech companies spending heavily on AI — including Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms — all rose more than 2%. These companies are building huge AI data centers, which require a lot of expensive computer parts.

Apple was long seen as a tech company that doesn't rely as much on AI. But the AI boom is still affecting Apple in a real way. Memory chips used in computers and AI systems have become more expensive because of high demand, and those rising costs are squeezing Apple's profits.

Some companies had a strong Tuesday because they reported better-than-expected earnings for the summer. DuPont rallied 8.6% for one of the biggest single-day gains in the S&P 500, and Celanese also climbed 5%. Overall, companies are expected to keep earning strong profits as the US economy continues to grow.

A new report about the job market gave investors reason to feel hopeful. It showed that employers posted more job openings at the end of September than experts had predicted. That positive news pushed the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond up slightly, from 4.91% to 4.96%. In oil markets, international crude prices rose slightly to about $103.84 a barrel.