By Sohaib Shams
Asian shares and U.S. futures traded mixed Wednesday after U.S. midterm elections handed Democrats majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a result seen as a rebuke of Republican governance and a shift toward congressional resistance to President Donald Trump.
Market Reaction in Asia
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4% to 62,188.63, with SoftBank Group dropping 3.2% and memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings tumbling 5.4% after its quarterly guidance missed expectations. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.6% to 5,683.80, while Samsung Electronics slipped 0.7% and SK Hynix edged 0.1% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.1% to 23,791.61, and the Shanghai Composite gained 2.2% to 3,686.17. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% to 8,834.50 following a central bank rate hike on Tuesday, and Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.8%. India’s Sensex edged 0.1% higher.
U.S. Markets and AI Focus
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% despite breadth weakness, led by chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom and heavy AI spenders Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms, each climbing over 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%. Apple faced pressure from rising memory chip costs driven by AI data center demand, forecasting lower profit margins for the final quarter.
Corporate Earnings and Economic Data
DuPont surged 8.6% and Celanese climbed 5% after reporting stronger-than-expected summer profits. A Tuesday jobs report showed U.S. job openings at the end of September exceeded forecasts, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield up to 4.96% from 4.91%.
Commodities and Currencies
Brent crude rose 0.2% to $103.84 a barrel, and U.S. benchmark crude gained 0.2% to $96.28. The dollar fell to 158.13 Japanese yen from 158.69, while the euro rose to $1.1229 from $1.1194.
