Dollar Slips, Gold and Treasuries Rise as Markets Digest Democratic Midterm Win

Financial markets moved on Wednesday after Democrats won control of Congress in the US midterm elections, with the dollar falling while gold, silver and US Treasury bonds rose. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at the trading platform IG, said overnight futures had pointed to steep losses but the picture improved, and that a divided government has often been the best outcome for markets. He said President Donald Trump's apparent acceptance of the results suggested a nasty litigation fight was unlikely. Investors also shunned AI stocks and bought government bonds, while oil prices ticked slightly higher amid uncertainty over Trump's war against Iran. Before the vote, the S&P 500 had gained about 27% since Trump's second term began in 2025, and Treasury yields had climbed since the Iran war began in late February. US budget deficits had widened to about $2 trillion.

The Guardian, on the left, leads with a live business blog on the Democratic victory. It quotes Beauchamp and frames the heavy Republican defeat as a sign that Trump is not immune to voter discontent, one that raises doubts about his agenda and leaves investors less comfortable with White House political risk. Fox Business, on the right, ran a pre-election piece. It sets out what a Democratic Congress could mean for AI oversight and the debt ceiling, and cites the market gains under Republican majorities, the deficit, and Ned Davis Research data showing the S&P 500 rose for the rest of the year in five of eight midterm cycles since 1930 when the president's party lost the House. It does not report the result. Both sides discuss the Iran war's effect on yields and energy and the question of how a divided Congress affects markets. France 24 adds a distinct angle: AI stocks sold off, and cost of living was the campaign's central issue.