Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Stock market today: Dow dives on tight midterms ahead of inflation data

Published 11/09/2022, 04:27 PM
Updated 11/09/2022, 04:34 PM
© Reuters.

© Reuters.

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The Dow slumped Wednesday as an unexpectedly tight U.S. midterm election clouded the outcome on the likely winner in the battle to control congress, just a day ahead of inflation data that could further shape the Federal Reserve's thinking on rate hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 2%, or 646 points, the S&P 500 fell 2%, and the Nasdaq was down 2.4%

The midterms didn’t bring the landslide victory for the Republicans, or so-called red wave that many had recently predicted.

The GOP is still widely expected to win a narrow majority in the House, leading to the divided government, but the race for the Senate is tight after Democrats fared much better than expected in key races.

But the midterms and bets on how ‘political gridlock’ has historically proved a boon for stocks may prove “short-term catalysts for people to square their positions for the rest of the year,” Zhiwei Ren, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Penn Mutual Asset Management told Investing.com’s Yasin Ebrahim in an interview on Wednesday.

The Fed is the “bigger force in the market,” Zhiwei says, ahead of inflation data due Thursday that is expected to show slowing price pressures.

Energy was the biggest drag on the broader market, down 3% following a larger than expected increase in U.S. weekly crude inventories and positive news on the Ukraine-Russia war after the Kremlin ordered troops to pull out of Kherson.

Coterra Energy Inc (NYSE:CTRA), Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES), and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) fell more than 8%, with the latter’s mixed quarterly results that showed a miss on the bottom line further souring sentiment.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), meanwhile, fell more than 13% after reporting quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street estimates, driven by weakness in its parks and media businesses. The media giant also warned about slowing growth for its Disney+ streaming platform.

In tech, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) bucked the trend lower to rise more than 5% after the social media company detailed plans to cut more than 11,000 jobs. The cost-cutting was welcomed by Wall Street amid frustrations about the company’s ongoing plan to invest in the metaverse.

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) dropped 21% after the video game company reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss.

D.R. Horton Inc's (NYSE:DHI) better-than-expected quarterly results helped it shrug off a slip in homebuilders amid data showing mortgage rates jumped.

Latest comments

massive blue wave is yet to come. keep hope alive.
cpi Oct might come in as 7.5%? if so, an explosive rally is a sure thing. better yet. Trump has to give up his hope to run.
the rich get richer because they don't usually fall for scams and spam......
Market dont care about mid terms get out of here, its IV going up bc people getting ready for tomorrow which is more important than mid terms. if cpi comes as expected or a little less expect a face ripping rally when markets close their hedges.
Market dont care about mid terms get out of here, its IV going up bc people getting ready for tomorrow which is more important than mid terms. if cpi comes as expected or a little less expect a face ripping rally when markets close their hedges.
Who knows but why will it come down? crude rose again.. rents r not getting cheaper.. don't see any reason for moderation.. if it comes high, imagine what happens.. 4% cut possible
What would cause the CPI to go lower?
lol markets give 2 s**ts about mid terms. these headlines are hilarious.
It dropped because market priced in red wave. got a red trickle instead
democrat red wave
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.