S&P 500, Nasdaq Surge Ahead After Democratic Sweep, Dow Jumps To One-Year High On Lower Oil — AAPL, SNAP, INTC, CRWV, QCOM In Focus

• The S&P 500 ended Wednesday 2% higher, the Nasdaq 100 rose 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 3%.
• Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate. 
• Oil prices dropped about 8%.  

U.S. stock indices ended higher on Wednesday, with overall tech and chipmaker stocks staging a recovery as traders bet that a Democratic sweep would lead to a slowdown in AI capex and safeguard falling cash flows.

The S&P 500 ended Wednesday 2% higher, the Nasdaq 100 rose 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 3% to its highest level in a year. The Russell 2000, which tracks small-cap stocks, added 1.6%. 

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The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 1.7%, and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) jumped 3.1%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended 1% higher on Wednesday.  

Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF dropped about 3% each on Wednesday amid weakness in Nvidia (NVDA), Micron Tech (MU) and Broadcom (AVGO). The broader Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) added 0.2%.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for DIA improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’, while it remained in ‘bearish’ territory for SPY and QQQ.

US Market Drivers

Traders appeared ready to shrug off political gridlock, betting that the ongoing AI boom will sustain. Analysts noted that divided government may limit additional fiscal stimulus and relieve pressure on Treasury yields, creating a favorable backdrop for equities.

“Gridlock is good,” Jason Pride at Glenmede told Bloomberg. “Markets have historically fared better when no single party can push through legislation on party-line votes. This sort of backdrop has generally been supportive for equities.”

While Democratic gains could complicate data-center development in some states, many investors see little threat to the AI investment picture. Few investors think that a Democratic win could eventually push hyperscalers to slowdown AI spending which inturn would help stop the bleeding in their cash flows.

"The blue wave will have implications for equities, with the biggest impact likely coming from an increase in data center regulation at the state level near-term," Keith Parker, UBS’s head of global macro equity strategy and US equity strategy research, wrote in a note to clients.

Furthermore, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said in an interview to CNBC that Democratic gains in the midterms could ultimately prove positive for stocks rather than a headwind, and voiced optimism for a 15-20% rally in tech stocks.

Alternatively, Dan Ives of Yorkville Advisors, who is a well-known tech bull, anticipated a 10% to 12% correction in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) amid pressure on the tech trade following a Democratic sweep.

The Dow Jones index saw the highest gains among benchmark indices after both U.S. WTI crude and Brent crude prices dropped about 8% each.

Key Trending Stocks

Snap Inc. (SNAP) share price tumbled 11% after-hours on Wednesday after the company’s dwindling user growth offset optimism around improved financial cost structures and a better-than-expected Q4 outlook.  

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is reining in employee spending on artificial intelligence, lowering daily usage caps as part of a broader corporate cost-cutting initiative, according to an exclusive report by Bloomberg. 

Intel’s (INTC) chief executive officer and director Lip-Bu Tan acquired 150,000 shares of common stock worth $9.7 million on Nov. 2 via his family trust, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.    

CoreWeave Inc.’s (CRWV) bonds as well as its share price dropped on Wednesday after a wave of Democratic wins in multiple states, including Texas, raised concerns about a slowdown in data center infrastructure builds.  

Qualcomm (QCOM) announced on Wednesday that it will team up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX (SPCX) to help build Starlink’s new national cellular network. 

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