On Tuesday, the three major indices closed mixed, with the S&P 500 ending a three-day decline while chip stocks that had been battered for days staged a rebound. Investors are awaiting the results of the US midterm elections, which will determine which party controls Congress during the remaining two years of President Trump's term. Polling stations in the continental US closed as early as 6 p.m. Eastern Time, and trading prices on the betting platform Polymarket indicated roughly a 95% probability that Democrats would win control of the House of Representatives and about a 77% chance of taking the Senate.
US Stocks
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 197.12 points, or 0.38%, to 51,786.86; the S&P 500 rose 27.55 points, or 0.37%, to 7,568.95; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 207.65 points, or 0.83%, to 25,372.01. Micron Technology (MU.US), SK Hynix (SKHY.US), and NVIDIA (NVDA.US) each rose more than 2%, AMD (AMD.US) climbed 3.6%, Oracle (ORCL.US) gained 5.8%, while Apple (AAPL.US) fell nearly 2%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.21%, with JD.com (JD.US) up 2.3%.
European Stocks
Germany's DAX 30 fell 118.94 points, or 0.46%, to 25,863.93; the UK's FTSE 100 dropped 121.06 points, or 1.12%, to 10,640.27; France's CAC 40 declined 27.38 points, or 0.34%, to 8,020.31; the Euro Stoxx 50 slid 37.51 points, or 0.61%, to 6,138.55; Spain's IBEX 35 lost 171.90 points, or 0.91%, to 18,800.00; and Italy's FTSE MIB edged down 30.44 points, or 0.06%, to 49,917.50.
Forex
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.15% on the day and closed at 101.867 at the end of New York trading. As of the New York close, the euro traded at 1.1190 dollars, down from 1.1194 dollars the previous session; the pound was at 1.3415 dollars, up from 1.3410 dollars; the dollar fetched 158.73 yen, up from 157.91 yen; 0.8209 Swiss francs, up from 0.8183 francs; 1.4003 Canadian dollars, up from 1.3987 Canadian dollars; and 9.7940 Swedish kronor, up from 9.7807 kronor.
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 1.4% to break through the 77,000-dollar mark, last trading at 77,748 dollars; Ethereum gained more than 1.8% to 2,290 dollars.
Precious Metals
Spot gold fell 0.39% to 3,930.47 dollars; spot silver declined 1.67% to 49.792 dollars per ounce.
Crude Oil
Light crude for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 37 cents to settle at 96.09 dollars per barrel, a decline of 0.38%; Brent crude for January delivery in London dropped 1.17 dollars to settle at 103.60 dollars per barrel, a decline of 1.12%.
Macro News
US labor demand unexpectedly picked up, with job openings increasing by 333,000. US job openings unexpectedly rose to a four-month high in September, while layoffs fell to their lowest level in more than a year, indicating that labor demand strengthened heading into the fourth quarter. Data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that September job openings increased by 333,000 to 7.52 million, above the revised 7.19 million in August and exceeding all economists' expectations in the survey. The report also showed that layoffs fell to their lowest level since March 2025, while voluntary quits increased. The quits rate, which measures the share of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, rose to 2.1%, the highest in more than a year. Rising job openings and hiring are positive signals, but it will take several more months of such improvement to confirm that the labor market is entering a stronger growth phase. For more than a year, many employers have been reluctant to add or cut staff amid high prices and geopolitical uncertainty. However, with accelerating economic growth and resilient consumer spending, businesses may be gradually regaining confidence and beginning to expand their workforces.
Goldman Sachs warned of a "hidden bear market" in US stocks, with about 60% of S&P 500 constituents already in bear market territory. The S&P 500 is only about 3% below its latest record high, yet roughly 60% of its constituents have already fallen into bear market territory. Goldman Sachs trader Bobby Molavi pointed out that this market setup is quite striking. He said the so-called "oddity" is that the capital expenditures of tech giants driving AI-related stocks higher, as well as the companies receiving those investments, have seen their shares fall at the same time. Molavi, head of execution services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note to clients: "I don't understand why both sides would be punished by the market at the same time, especially when the basic expectation remains that AI will change everything." He described the current market setup as a "hidden bear market." As investors pull out of related stocks on concerns about the sustainability of massive AI spending, the market has seen large-scale rotation, with tech stocks hit hard in recent weeks. On the other hand, most S&P 500 constituents have still risen over the past month, with capital shifting from crowded areas into defensive sectors and previously underallocated areas.
Individual Stock News
AMD's revenue and guidance both beat expectations, sending shares up more than 9% after hours. AMD (AMD.US) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of 13.38 billion dollars, up 45% year over year and above the market expectation of 13.09 billion dollars; adjusted EPS was 2.09 dollars, above the expected 1.95 dollars. Data center revenue nearly doubled year over year to 8.5 billion dollars, accounting for 64% of total revenue, up from 47% a year earlier, mainly driven by growing demand for AI processors. CEO Lisa Su said demand for data center processors is expected to accelerate further and that the company is capable of meeting AI chip demand. AMD expects fourth-quarter revenue of about 17 billion dollars, above the market expectation of 16.2 billion to 16.3 billion dollars, but its gross margin guidance of 55% was below the market expectation of 55.3%. Meanwhile, amid tight memory chip supply and rising prices, the PC market continues to face pressure, with personal computer and gaming revenue falling 8% year over year to 3.7 billion dollars, including a 40% drop in gaming revenue. After the earnings release, AMD rose more than 9% after hours, lifting chip stocks such as NVIDIA and SK Hynix.
Meta's dollar bond drew as much as 58 billion dollars in orders, but financing costs rose markedly from April. According to people familiar with the matter, Meta Platforms (META.US)'s dollar bond offering attracted up to 58 billion dollars in subscription orders, about four times the at-least 15 billion dollar issue size, with total cross-border financing expected to be at least 20 billion dollars, and the company plans to issue its first euro bond as early as Wednesday. Despite strong subscription demand, Meta still needs to offer higher yields to attract investors, with its 2056-maturity bond yielding about 2.2 percentage points above US Treasuries, roughly 0.9 percentage points higher than similar bonds in April this year. Expanding AI investment has pushed up financing costs for tech giants, with bond yield premiums for large technology companies rising to their highest level since 2003, and credit default protection costs for some companies nearing historic highs. Analysts expect related companies to invest 4.5 trillion dollars in AI over the next three years, with Meta accounting for more than 740 billion dollars. Meta also raised 37.5 billion dollars through common and preferred stock offerings and plans to issue up to 60 billion dollars more in shares; S&P has downgraded its rating outlook to negative due to AI spending pressure.
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