Dow futures slide, then recover somewhat after Democrats sweep Congress, data center stocks lag

THE ALASKA STORY

Nov. 4, 2026 – US stock futures slid as election returns came in Tuesday night, then turned higher Wednesday morning as investors weighed what a Democratic Congress could actually achieve with President Donald Trump still in the White House. The stock markets are set to open in the United States at 5:30 am Alaska time.

Democrats were already projected by polls and prognosticators to win both chambers of Congress, picking up seats in Republican territory while Alaska’s congressional races remained unsettled. A strong Democratic showing had been on Wall Street’s radar before Election Day. Once control of Congress came into focus, traders could turn from guessing who would win to assessing what divided government would mean for taxes, spending and regulation.

The overnight drop was steepest in technology. Nasdaq-100 futures fell as much as 2.4%, while S&P 500 futures were down 1.4%, according to Reuters. By 6:24 a.m. Eastern, or 2:24 am in Anchorage, Dow futures were up 748 points, or 1.44%. S&P 500 futures had gained 1.04% and Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.93%. (Premarket readings, ahead of the 5:30 am Alaska time opening bell.)

Trump’s acceptance of the results helped ease fears of a drawn-out fight over the outcome, according to a market analyst who spoke to Reuters. Trump also acknowledged that the war in Iran played a role in Republican losses. The dollar weakened, long-term Treasury yields fell and oil prices eased in early trading.

Democrats will be able to set the congressional agenda and step up oversight of the administration. But they lack the votes to overcome a Senate filibuster on their own, and Trump can veto legislation that reaches his desk. For investors, those constraints helped narrow the range of policy changes they had to price in.

Democratic gains in Texas and Georgia drew attention to the politics of data-center construction, which has faced local opposition in both states. Shares of Applied Digital, IREN and Hut 8 traded lower before the bell, even as several of the largest technology companies recovered. Solar shares rose, and AMD gained in early premarket trading after issuing a stronger-than-expected growth outlook.

By early Wednesday, the overnight losses in the major index futures had been erased. The split between the Dow’s rebound and the weakness in data-center shares showed where investors still had questions after the votes came in.