Global stocks diverged after U.S. midterm results, as Wednesday's rally in American and European shares gave way to Thursday losses in South Korean chipmakers and gains in Hong Kong, exposing sharply different sector bets.
U.S. stocks climbed after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. The Associated Press reported that the S&P 500 added 119.70 points to close at 7,688.62, a 1.6% rise. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4% to 25,736.51, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3% to 53,356.12. The AP also pointed to a historical pattern: U.S. equities have tended to advance in the months after midterm elections under either party.
European shares advanced in the same session. The STOXX 600 rose 1.82% to 657.40, its highest close since Aug. 26, while the Euro STOXX banks index gained 4.6%, its largest one-day increase since early April. Reuters said buyers returned to lenders focused on their home markets after those banks had lagged broader shares. Analysts cited the prospect of less U.S. scrutiny of European banks.
The next Asian session brought losses for South Korean chipmakers. The KOSPI fell 5.28% to 5,383.80; Samsung Electronics dropped 7.57% to 201,500 won, and SK Hynix declined 9.46% to 1,264,000 won. The Hankyoreh reported that foreign investors were net sellers of 3.4 trillion won in main-board shares.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng Index rose 3.67% to 24,796.98. MT Newswires data carried by Yahoo Finance showed Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 1.8% to 61,077.90 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 up 2.6%.
Bloomberg’s market wrap, carried by Swissinfo, said investors were assessing whether the election could bring closer oversight of data-center investment; it described Chinese and Australian markets as beneficiaries of a shift away from technology exposure. FXStreet separately attributed to Deutsche Bank strategists the view that trading had moved away from companies tied to data-center spending. FXStreet also said the strategists pointed to a steep global decline in bond yields.
Reuters had earlier linked a European technology-sector decline to concerns over AI infrastructure costs, as detailed in EconoTimes’ account of the earlier slide in European technology shares. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Nov. 3 it would increase fiscal and financial support for emerging pillar industries. The announcement outlined broad support but did not identify a specific measure behind the Hang Seng’s rise.
