Stocks Mixed on Midterm Election Day as Big Tech Rebounds and Apple Falls

U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, Election Day for the midterms, as a rebound in influential Big Tech shares, including Nvidia, helped the S&P 500 rise 0.4% even though most stocks in the index fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4%, and Apple shares dropped. Investors and analysts were weighing how a Democratic sweep of Congress could affect markets, with polls pointing to a Democratic House win and a toss-up in the Senate. Data from Edward Jones shows the S&P 500 rose an average of 1.7% in the month after the last 14 midterm races dating to 1970, and averaged 15.5% in the six months after. Analysts said political gridlock tends to limit sweeping tax and spending legislation, which has historically been good for markets, though volatility around the vote is possible.

Left-leaning CBS News frames the story as a forward look at midterms and stocks, leading with Edward Jones data and quoting Magdalena Ocampo of Principal Asset Management and Chris Low of FHN Financial, who say gridlock supports earnings. Its excerpt does not mention Tuesday's index moves. Right-leaning Washington Times, the only right-leaning outlet covering the story, uses the same headline as AP and leads with the Big Tech rebound and Apple's drop, with no midterm analysis in its excerpt. The sides differ in focus rather than in facts: CBS is analyst-driven and forward-looking, while Washington Times reads as a same-day market report. Alternative outlets CNBC and AP add angles the others lack. CNBC stresses that investors are not pricing in a Democratic sweep and flags possible pressure on AI and defense stocks, while AP shares the Big Tech detail with Washington Times.