Stock futures fall on Democratic midterm wins as Treasuries and gold rally

U.S. stock futures fell sharply Tuesday night as Democrats won key races in the midterm elections, with Nasdaq-100 futures down about 2% and S&P 500 futures down roughly 1.1% to 1.3%. Dow futures slid about 0.8%. CNBC projected Democrats will win the House, while the Fox News Decision Desk projected they would take both chambers. AI-related shares led the drop on fears of a slower data center buildout. Japan's Nikkei fell 3.5% and Korea's Kospi 3%. Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year at about 4.90%. JPMorgan analysts warned of an AI sell-off on assumed higher regulation and taxes. Markets later steadied: the dollar fell, gold and Treasuries rose, and IG's Chris Beauchamp said divided government has often been good for markets.

Right-leaning Breitbart and Fox Business lead with the sell-off and say futures fell sharply. Breitbart adds the Nikkei and Kospi losses and reads the bond rally as a sign of recession worry. Fox Business stresses the Decision Desk's call on both chambers, a list of sectors facing policy change, Saxo's Charu Chanana on reduced fiscal stimulus, and Ned Davis data showing stocks often rose after such shifts. Left-leaning NBC News and The Guardian stress the rebound and the politics. NBC quotes Evercore's Sarah Bianchi on a rebuke of Trump over living costs and flags investigation risk for Trump-linked CEOs. The Guardian highlights the weaker dollar, the gold rally and doubts about Trump's agenda. Both sides cite AI-regulation fears and similar figures. CNBC, the alternative source, focuses on bond yields.