Markets 24-Hour Briefing
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Last updated: November 4, 2026, 4:40 AM ET
Midterms and Markets
US midterm results delivered a Democratic sweep, and global markets reacted with whiplash. Two-year Treasury yields wsj.com fell to a two-month low, while Asian stocks bloomberg.com slid to their lowest level in over six months as investors feared tighter oversight of AI. Nasdaq futures bloomberg.com dropped as the "blue-nami" weighed on the AI complex, and European stock futures bloomberg.com dipped on similar concerns. Global stocks and the dollar ft.com both slid as traders bet Democrats could slow the infrastructure build-out central to economic growth. Yet the mood shifted in Asia's afternoon session, with a relief rally wsj.com erasing part of the initial selloff.
The dollar bloomberg.com rose most in a month on climbing Treasury yields and strong data, while the franc and yen bloomberg.com jumped as early results weakened the greenback. Treasuries rallied bloomberg.com on the Democratic win, though traders bloomberg.com remained cautious ahead of the refunding plan and jobs data.
Energy & Commodities
Oil prices wsj.com rose as investors weighed the midterm outcome against Iran risks, though Brent bloomberg.com pushed lower for a third session amid mixed signals on Iran talks. Iran's guerrilla tactics wsj.com in the Strait of Hormuz, from rocket-propelled grenades to limpet mines, underline the persistent supply risk. Gold wsj.com edged higher as oil cooled, while central banks wsj.com accelerated gold buying in the third quarter at the fastest pace since late 2024. Copper bloomberg.com swung on the midterm results and a weaker dollar. Palm oil bloomberg.com fell to its lowest since June as stockpile concerns mounted, and corn bloomberg.com hit a four-month low on supply and peace hopes. Canadian heavy crude bloomberg.com traded at its widest discount to US futures since 2018. Saudi Aramco nytimes.com posted a 9% profit rise despite attacks on pipelines and refineries, while Saudi Arabia's deficit bloomberg.com more than doubled as war strained finances. Qatar ft.com is set to become the world's biggest buyer of US LNG. Europe's gas prices wsj.com rose as traders awaited Trump's next move on Iran.
Tech & AI
AMD beat wsj.com Wall Street expectations as it pivoted to a data-center-first strategy, sending shares sharply higher. Super Micro wsj.com reported first-quarter revenue of $19.95 billion, up from $5.02 billion a year earlier, on AI infrastructure demand. Apple warned ft.com that "unprecedented" memory chip costs will hit margins, even as Apple's stock wsj.com is seen as an AI safe haven. Oracle ft.com cancelled a $7bn Tencent AI deal under Trump pressure. Apollo ft.com lent a record $114bn, piling into AI financing. Investors ft.com are demanding more to finance the data-centre boom, and hedge funds bloomberg.com suffered in October's "nowhere to hide" AI rout. Chinese regulators wsj.com moved to rein in the IPO rush after AI concerns hit stocks. Block bloomberg.com beat profit estimates and raised guidance. Google nytimes.com will turn off search for schools that reject its AI tools.
Banks & Finance
UOB shares tumbled bloomberg.com after third-quarter profit missed analyst expectations. Intesa wsj.com raised its profit guidance as its bid for Monte dei Paschi nears. Apollo swung to a loss wsj.com on investment-related losses. Permira sold Octus wsj.com to the London Stock Exchange for $3.54 billion. Serbian authorities ft.com detained the owner of Alta Bank, while Paraguay ft.com moved to wind down the digital bank Ueno. Singapore stocks bloomberg.com are on track for a correction as bank profit outlooks sour. Chile's pension funds bloomberg.com saw returns rebound as US yields eased.
Corporate & Deals
3M agreed wsj.com to a $7.4 billion settlement over "forever chemicals" injuries covering up to 120,000 plaintiffs. Lockheed Martin wsj.com will pay $29.5 million to settle a federal probe into diversity efforts. Unilever ft.com plans €1bn in cost cuts after its food spin-off. Pfizer raised ft.com its profit outlook on strong demand for non-Covid drugs. Ferrari wsj.com lifted guidance again on customization demand. Booking Holdings bloomberg.com forecast a weaker final quarter as prices and unrest hurt travel. Shopify wsj.com posted higher profit and merchant volume. Foodtastic bloomberg.com offered $720 million for Canada's MTY Food after a rejection. CVS Health ft.com moved to dismantle its $117bn healthcare empire. JD.com ft.com was cleared by the EU to buy Ceconomy. Yamato Holdings bloomberg.com surged on an activist stake from Farallon Capital. Cinven ft.com agreed to buy Theramex in a €2.6bn deal. Schaeffler ft.com axed 3,500 jobs and closed four German sites.
Europe & Asia Markets
Marks & Spencer bloomberg.com showed UK retail strength despite a consumer squeeze, while the FTSE 100 bloomberg.com and European stocks fell after the US sweep. Continental wsj.com swung to a profit despite an 11% revenue drop. Japanese stocks bloomberg.com sank as tech shares were hit, while the Nikkei wsj.com was flat. South Korean chipmakers bloomberg.com plunged. China's services gauge bloomberg.com dipped for the first time since July, and Beijing bloomberg.com escalated its defense of the stock market. India's central bank bloomberg.com set up a panel on forex and bond markets, and BHEL bloomberg.com won $3 billion in Adani Power orders.
Politics & Policy
Democrats clinched a Senate majority ft.com as voters lashed out at Trump's Republicans, with Texas turning blue nytimes.com and Kansas electing a Democratic senator nytimes.com. Trump said nytimes.com he would accept the results. Florida passed bloomberg.com sweeping property tax cuts, and Democratic governors ft.com won on pledges to halt data-centre building. Trump is ending $4 billion nytimes.com in aid to Israel by year-end. Trump is pushing Venezuela nytimes.com for a deal to keep US troops in place.
Coming Up
The Senate and House control picture continues to take shape as race projections wsj.com update. Treasury's refunding plan bloomberg.com and the US jobs data are awaited by bond traders.
Private Equity
Last updated: November 4, 2026, 4:40 AM ET
Venture Funding & Fund Launches
Global venture funding hit $59 billion news.crunchbase.com in October, a 45% jump from a year earlier, driven largely by China's largest startup deal on record. Ted Schlein's Ballistic Ventures is seeking $490M techcrunch.com for new funds as AI-driven demand lifts cybersecurity investing. An ex-Hummingbird investor is planning a new VC firm sifted.eu, according to sources, while former Local Globe partner Yvonne Bajela has closed a $17m debut fund sifted.eu.
Buyouts & Infrastructure
Hellman & Friedman is extending its decade-long ownership peinsights.substack.com of Team System, with Francisco Partners and KKR joining the investor group. I Squared Capital doubled its target peinsights.substack.com after its second infrastructure credit strategy reached $3bn. CPP Investments and Dream closed a $422m peinsights.substack.com Toronto logistics portfolio deal.
Asset Managers
Apollo posted record fee earnings peinsights.substack.com and record deal origination in the third quarter, though marks at Athene pushed the group to a $1.1bn loss.
Governance & Sport
FIFA will open confidential files peinsights.substack.com on its scrapped World Cup private equity plan to members of its ruling Council.
Startups & Technology
Founders may make poor early employees sifted.eu, a Sifted analysis argues, though it still urges startups to hire them. European spinout investors say deeptech VCs remain too risk-averse sifted.eu toward spinouts, and that this is costing them. Researchers found sensitive user data exposed sifted.eu in apps built on Lovable. Professor James Whittington and Dr Ruairidh Battleday unveiled a speed breakthrough sifted.eu from their stealth frontier AI lab, claiming a 724x boost in attention processing. On the media side, the question is whether tech media can survive sifted.eu the rise of AI and influencers.
Coming Up
The TechCrunch Founder Summit techcrunch.com takes place in Boston on November 4, bringing founders and VCs together. Pass prices for the event rise soon techcrunch.com, so savings are available only until then.
Sector Investment
Last updated: November 3, 2026, 3:40 PM ET
Infrastructure Investment
Gulf infrastructure demand is rising steadily infrastructureinvestor.com, though new cost pressures are forcing investors to reassess how much risk premium they should demand across the region.
Real Estate Investment
The real estate sector is under pressure perenews.com to modernise as the total portfolio approach gains traction, with industry leaders calling for more coordinated action.