Stock futures are down slightly as congressional control remains unclear

Stock futures are down slightly – after recent market gains – as a result of midterm elections No clear answers have been given about who will control Congress yet.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 123 points, or about 0.4%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.4%.

Stocks have been swinging on three straight days of election gains, as Wall Street had been expecting Republicans to gain ground and block any future tax and spending plans. The Dow rose 333 points on Tuesday for the third consecutive session of more than 1% gain.

But control of Congress was not clear. NBC News had not yet offered control of the House of Representatives with NBC’s estimate that Republicans could win 220 seats, which would be a slim majority.

In one of the major races that could determine the Senate’s control, Democrat John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz for the pivotal Pennsylvania Senate seat, according to an NBC News projection. Oz had the support of former President Donald Trump, who endorses his two candidates Experienced intermittent levels of success across the country. Critical Senate races in Georgia and Nevada were not resolved.

“The election outcome remains uncertain, but the red wave predicted by models, investors and betting markets did not materialize and, in the near term, will add to the already high volatility,” Denis Debucherie wrote in a note on Wednesday.

While the election caught the market’s attention, investors may want to move forward now that the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to bring down inflation, which could push the economy into recession.

The political landscape “will dazzle the Washington chatterbox, but for markets the focus will shift to whether a recession looms, whether the Fed will end its tightening this winter, and whether armistice and negotiations are possible in the Ukraine war,” Greg Valier writes. , chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments.

The recent rally in the market occurred at the precipice of a strong seasonal period. Historically, stocks tend to rise after the midterm elections and the clarity of policy they bring, and the last two months of the year are a bullish period for investors.

Parent share on Facebook meta pads Primary market prices rose 3% after the social media giant announced that it would lay off more than 11,000 workers. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was too optimistic about growth and now needed to streamline the company.

One of the stocks that affected futures contracts was Disney, which It fell more than 8% in early trading After the entertainment giant miscalculated on its upper and lower lines fiscal fourth quarter.