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Washington reset, market meltdown and the Iran oil bet: The financial week in five charts 

By Reuters News

By Anna Szymanski

Nov 6 (Reuters) - Every Friday, Reuters Open Interest (ROI) distills the financial week into five key charts, spotlighting the major trends, surprises and overlooked moves that defined the past five days.

1. BLUE WAVE, RED TECH

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ANNA SZYMANSKI, ROI Editor-in-Charge: The Democrats swept to victory in the US midterm elections this week in what can only be termed a "Blue Tsunami," gaining control of both houses of Congress in a harsh rebuke of the current administration. The electoral thrashing has set off blame games in the Republican Party and the White House, while the market implications have already been massive, as my colleagues document below.

2. MIDTERM MELTDOWN

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JAMIE MCGEEVER, ROI Markets Columnist: Remember, remember, ​the 5th of November. The AI trade imploded on Thursday as investors reassessed their initial benign reaction to the Democrats' resounding sweep in the ⁠US midterm elections, unleashing a tech sector fire sale on Wall Street that hit AI infrastructure companies the hardest.

The Nasdaq is firmly in correction territory, down as much as 14% from its all-time high, ​which was reached only one month ago. Some $2 trillion was wiped off its market cap on Thursday.

The selloff spread to global markets early on Friday and the question now is whether this marks a real turning point. Investors ​are clearly gripped by the fear that Democrats will use their control of both houses of Congress to slow the data center buildout.

3. CRUDE RETREAT

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RON BOUSSO, ROI Energy Columnist: Global benchmark Brent crude plunged this week to under $100 a barrel, on track for its biggest weekly fall since 2020, as investors calculated that the stinging Republican defeat in the US midterm elections could force President Donald Trump to seek a quick resolution to the war in Iran.

Trump acknowledged that higher gasoline costs played a role in the electoral rout, even as he defended the campaign, saying, "You can't let Iran get a nuclear weapon." Whatever the president chooses to do next, the Middle East faces years of instability.

4. WHITE HOUSE WAGERS

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MIKE DOLAN, ROI Finance & Markets Columnist: The Democratic capture of both houses of Congress this week elicited a strong market reaction, but one move on the sidelines stood out.

Prediction markets suddenly showed Georgia Senator Jon ​Ossoff, a Democrat, as the favourite to win the White House in two years. It marked the first time that the presumed Republican candidate, current Vice President JD Vance, was not the clear frontrunner to succeed Donald Trump.

That matters to financial markets because two years isn't that far away and they may need to start seriously considering what the tilt toward Democrats in Congress could mean for Big Tech and other sectors, even if macro-policy stasis prevails through 2028.

5. CYBER CHILL

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MIKE DOLAN, ROI Finance & Markets Columnist: In recent weeks, unknown criminal groups or state actors have been ​responsible for the biggest cyber theft in history, the hacking of Ukraine's air defense alert systems and the overnight shutdown of supermarket freezers across Europe.

Attempted breaches of ‌encrypted financial accounts along with economic and military sabotage have become almost routine. The immediate costs are already clear. If this activity is being supercharged by generative AI models and systems that even leading AI labs fear may outpace human oversight, the costs — economic and otherwise — are bound to rise.

Opinions expressed are those of the authors. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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