US stock futures and Asian chip shares fell as investors weighed what Democratic election gains could mean for data center construction. Democrats won control of the Senate and were projected to take the House. In Australia, miners led the ASX 200 lower, while Hong Kong and Shanghai advanced in afternoon trading. European equity futures pointed to a weaker open.<\/p>\n
Australian equities concluded Wednesday’s session lower, with the S&P\/ASX 200 (^AXJO)<\/strong> declining 0.59% to 8,834.50. Six of the 11 sectors fell, led by miners as metals prices weakened.<\/p>\n Asian benchmarks were mixed in afternoon trading. Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 (^N225)<\/strong> fell 1.58%, while South Korea\u2019s KOSPI (^KS11)<\/strong> edged up 0.04% despite losses in major chip stocks. Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng Index (^HSI)<\/strong> gained 1.28% and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS)<\/strong> rose 1.83%. Singapore\u2019s Straits Times Index (^STI)<\/strong> slipped 0.63%.<\/p>\n In overnight trading, S&P 500 futures fell 0.34%, Nasdaq-100 futures lost 0.48% and Dow futures slipped 0.14%. European stock futures are pointing to a negative start for the upcoming session, with Stoxx 50 futures lower by 0.35%, the U.K.\u2019s FTSE 100 futures down 0.64%, Germany\u2019s DAX futures off by 0.46%, France\u2019s CAC 40 set to start 0.28% lower, and Italy\u2019s FTSE MIB indicated down 0.21%.<\/p>\n In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the governor\u2019s race after campaigning for a pause on new data centers until state lawmakers could set rules for their construction. Her victory drew investors\u2019 attention to the role governors could play in future projects. Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, said Tuesday evening that the prospect of Democratic gains in Congress and in governors\u2019 races added to existing concerns about spending by large cloud providers.<\/p>\n Australian equities broadly declined, influenced by the negative sentiment emanating from US futures. Locally, concerns included anticipation of Australia\u2019s September trade data, due Thursday, and warnings from Reserve Bank Governor Bullock. Bullock cautioned that elevated oil prices, persistent inflation, and slowing economic growth would continue to pressure households over the coming year. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.85% on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Commonwealth Bank fell 0.58%, while ANZ, National Australia Bank and Westpac all closed higher.<\/p>\n In Japan, SoftBank Group (9984.T)<\/strong> fell more than 8% and Tokyo Electron (8035.T)<\/strong> lost 7.04% in intraday trading. Disco, Advantest and Renesas Electronics also fell. In South Korea, SK Hynix (000660.KS)<\/strong> was down 5.08% and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS)<\/strong> was down 3.87% during the session. Seoul Semiconductor (046890.KQ)<\/strong> also traded lower. In Taiwan, TSMC (2330.TW)<\/strong> closed down 1.53% at NT$2,260.00.<\/p>\n In Australia, BHP Group (BHP.AX)<\/strong> fell 1.52% to A$55.56, Rio Tinto (RIO.AX)<\/strong> declined 1.69% to A$143.05 and Fortescue (FMG.AX)<\/strong> lost 1.46% to A$14.19. REA Group and Goodman Group also fell.<\/p>\n In overnight trading on Robinhood, Microsoft<\/strong>, Amazon<\/strong> and Nvidia<\/strong> traded lower. CoreWeave<\/strong> fell 3.4% and SpaceX<\/strong> lost 4.8%. After Tuesday\u2019s regular close, AMD (AMD)<\/strong> reported third-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations. Its shares gained 5% in overnight trading. The Invesco Solar ETF rose 3% on speculation that a Democratic majority could reverse policies affecting the solar industry.<\/p>\n Brent Crude (BZ=F)<\/strong> futures traded at US$103.89 per barrel, up 0.28% from the previous daily close.<\/p>\n Figures reflect the latest eligible observations for each instrument. Observation dates may differ.<\/p>\n US stock futures and Asian chip stocks fell as investors weighed the outlook for data centers. Miners led the ASX 200 lower, while Hong Kong and Shanghai gained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wrap_published_at_et":"2026-11-04T01:27:23-05:00","wrap_author_name":"","wrap_author_url":"","wrap_author_linkedin":"","wrap_reviewer_name":"","wrap_reviewer_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-7343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market-wraps","tag-asia-close"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Drove Markets<\/h2>\n
Stocks to Watch<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n \nInstrument<\/th>\n Code<\/th>\n Close<\/th>\n Move<\/th>\n WoW<\/th>\n YTD<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n ASX 200<\/td>\n ^AXJO<\/td>\n 8,834.50<\/td>\n -0.59%<\/td>\n -0.14%<\/td>\n 1.22%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n TSMC<\/td>\n 2330.TW<\/td>\n 2,260.00<\/td>\n -1.53%<\/td>\n -5.24%<\/td>\n 42.59%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n BHP<\/td>\n BHP.AX<\/td>\n 55.56<\/td>\n -1.52%<\/td>\n -0.11%<\/td>\n 21.42%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Rio Tinto<\/td>\n RIO.AX<\/td>\n 143.05<\/td>\n -1.69%<\/td>\n -2.43%<\/td>\n -3.14%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Fortescue<\/td>\n FMG.AX<\/td>\n 14.19<\/td>\n -1.46%<\/td>\n -2.67%<\/td>\n -35.91%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Microsoft<\/td>\n MSFT<\/td>\n 520.99<\/td>\n 2.74%<\/td>\n -0.67%<\/td>\n 10.16%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Amazon<\/td>\n AMZN<\/td>\n 250.69<\/td>\n 2.06%<\/td>\n 1.08%<\/td>\n 10.68%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n NVIDIA<\/td>\n NVDA<\/td>\n 206.69<\/td>\n 2.29%<\/td>\n -2.02%<\/td>\n 9.45%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n CoreWeave<\/td>\n CRWV<\/td>\n 53.74<\/td>\n 7.16%<\/td>\n -0.91%<\/td>\n -32.25%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n SpaceX<\/td>\n SPCX<\/td>\n 141.31<\/td>\n 3.62%<\/td>\n -4.19%<\/td>\n -12.20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n AMD<\/td>\n AMD<\/td>\n 483.90<\/td>\n 3.65%<\/td>\n -6.36%<\/td>\n 116.54%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Brent Crude<\/td>\n BZ=F<\/td>\n 103.89<\/td>\n 0.28%<\/td>\n -9.91%<\/td>\n 71.01%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n What to Watch Next<\/h2>\n
Economic Releases<\/h3>\n
\n
Corporate Earnings<\/h3>\n
\n
Market Holidays<\/h3>\n
\n
Global Markets Snapshot<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n \nMarket<\/th>\n Code<\/th>\n Close<\/th>\n Move<\/th>\n WoW<\/th>\n YTD<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n S&P 500<\/td>\n ^GSPC<\/td>\n 7,568.92<\/td>\n 0.36%<\/td>\n -1.99%<\/td>\n 10.36%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Nasdaq<\/td>\n ^IXIC<\/td>\n 25,372.01<\/td>\n 0.83%<\/td>\n -4.18%<\/td>\n 9.19%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Dow Jones<\/td>\n ^DJI<\/td>\n 51,786.72<\/td>\n -0.38%<\/td>\n -1.13%<\/td>\n 7.04%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n ASX 200<\/td>\n ^AXJO<\/td>\n 8,834.50<\/td>\n -0.59%<\/td>\n -0.14%<\/td>\n 1.22%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n FTSE<\/td>\n ^FTSE<\/td>\n 10,638.40<\/td>\n -1.14%<\/td>\n -0.45%<\/td>\n 6.91%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n DAX<\/td>\n ^GDAXI<\/td>\n 25,864.62<\/td>\n -0.45%<\/td>\n 1.07%<\/td>\n 5.40%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Brent Crude<\/td>\n BZ=F<\/td>\n 103.89<\/td>\n 0.28%<\/td>\n -9.91%<\/td>\n 71.01%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gold<\/td>\n GC=F<\/td>\n 4,017.00<\/td>\n 1.94%<\/td>\n -0.85%<\/td>\n -7.22%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Bitcoin<\/td>\n BTC-USD<\/td>\n 77,654<\/td>\n 1.27%<\/td>\n -3.90%<\/td>\n -12.48%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n AUD\/USD<\/td>\n AUDUSD=X<\/td>\n 0.6984<\/td>\n -0.22%<\/td>\n -0.65%<\/td>\n 4.58%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n GBP\/USD<\/td>\n GBPUSD=X<\/td>\n 1.3457<\/td>\n 0.35%<\/td>\n 0.59%<\/td>\n -0.12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n EUR\/USD<\/td>\n EURUSD=X<\/td>\n 1.1236<\/td>\n 0.39%<\/td>\n 0.16%<\/td>\n -4.38%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n USD\/JPY<\/td>\n JPY=X<\/td>\n 158.1270<\/td>\n 0.13%<\/td>\n 0.83%<\/td>\n 0.89%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10-Year Treasury<\/td>\n ^TNX<\/td>\n 4.952<\/td>\n 5.80 bp<\/td>\n -4.10 bp<\/td>\n 76.50 bp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n VIX<\/td>\n ^VIX<\/td>\n 20.83<\/td>\n -1.51%<\/td>\n 18.89%<\/td>\n 43.56%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"