U.S. Midterms Begin as Iran Strike Jolts Oil — November 4, 2026

Top U.S. Stories

• Midterm elections. Voters decided all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats on Tuesday. Control of Congress may take time to determine. Results were not yet final at the time of writing. Why it matters: A change in House control would reshape the policy agenda and the outlook for taxes, spending and trade.
• Iran. The U.S. carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, officials said, describing them as defensive, while Qatar-mediated talks continue. An Iranian official told Reuters a deal is still far off. Why it matters: Oil near $100 a barrel feeds into gasoline prices and inflation, and every headline moves it by several dollars.
• Apple. The company reported $114.5 billion in quarterly revenue, up 12%, but guided to a lower gross margin and the shares fell after hours. Why it matters: Even strong results can be sold if the profit outlook softens.
• Chips rebound. Nvidia and other influential Big Tech stocks rallied and lifted the Nasdaq after a three-day slide.
• Europe. The ECB held its deposit rate at 2.5% on Oct. 29, and Christine Lagarde said she will step down on February 7, 2027.

Compass Insight

Tuesday’s tape was about two binary events: an election and a war. Stocks split, with chip names bouncing while Apple dragged the Dow, which suggests investors are rotating inside tech rather than leaving equities. Oil is the more fragile signal: it fell more than 7% on Monday on peace hopes, then ended Tuesday lower again even after the strike report, so the market is leaning toward diplomacy but still trades near $100.

For the short term, watch the House and Senate outcome and how Treasury yields and the dollar react. Over the medium term, the bigger questions are whether AI-spending worries keep hitting big tech and what the Fed and the Bank of Japan decide at their December meetings. None of this is certain, and it is not investment advice.

Markets

Index	Close (Nov. 3)	Change
Dow	51,786.72	-0.38%
S&P 500	7,568.92	+0.36%
Nasdaq	25,372.01	+0.83%
WTI crude	$96.09	-$0.37

Index closes and point changes were confirmed by AP. WTI settled at $96.09, down $0.37. The ECB reference rate for the dollar was 158.29 yen on November 3.

Stocks in Focus

• Apple: Beat on revenue and earnings, but a lower margin outlook weighed on the stock.
• Semiconductors: Strong rebound after recent AI-related selling.

Not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

Auto-generated and AI-written. Not investment advice.