US Stocks Rise as Democrats Win Control of House and Senate in Midterm Elections

US stocks rose Wednesday after Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 1,200 points, or 2.4%, shortly after the open. The S&P 500 gained 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite 2.1%; another account of the 9:30 a.m. ET open put the Dow up 1.8%, the S&P 500 up 1.1% and the Nasdaq up 1%. As of 10:30 a.m. ET, Decision Desk HQ had called 54 Senate seats for Democrats and 44 for Republicans, with Alaska and Mississippi too close to call. Stephen Brown of Capital Economics said the result changes little for near-term policy because Democrats lack a filibuster-proof Senate majority and President Trump can veto bills. Analysts said gridlock tends to favor markets. Brent crude fell 0.7% to $102.87 and WTI fell 0.2% to $94.97. Walmart rose 1.3% and Target 3.3% on possible tariff changes, CVS fell 12%, and Nvidia and Oracle opened lower. Trump posted that he would accept the results.

The right-leaning New York Post leads with the Dow's 1,200-point jump and a "historic" Democratic sweep. It relies on analyst comments relayed from Reuters and the Associated Press, including Michael Krautzberger of Allianz and Brown, that a divided Washington limits policy swings, and it adds oil prices and hopes that Trump might rein in foreign policy decisions. Left-leaning CBS News opens with the same index gains and the same Brown quote and gridlock point. It adds the policy areas that could shift: the data center buildout, crypto regulation and proposed credit card interest caps. The New York Times headline says Democrats "flipped" Congress and notes that global markets first fell on early results before rising. Both sides agree on the numbers and the muted-policy-impact view. Al Jazeera stands apart with sector winners and losers, Trump's acceptance post and Dan Ives's warning on AI.