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Dow Jumps More Than 1,300 Points as Stocks Rally After Democrats Take Congress

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Wednesday after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, with the Dow up 1,325 points by late morning, while solar, health care and retail shares gained and data-center, defense and oil shares fell.

By admin Nov. 4, 2026 · 2:42 PM ET 2 min read

Traders at desks with rows of monitors showing stock market charts in a large trading room

U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,325 points, or 2.6%, as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time, according to the Associated Press, while the S&P 500 was up 1.5% and the Nasdaq composite was up 1.7%.

The gains came as investors weighed what divided government would mean for taxes, spending and regulation. The Associated Press report said Wall Street generally prefers split control in Washington because it lowers the chance of sweeping policy changes.

Winners: solar, health care and retail

Solar shares were among the strongest gainers. First Solar jumped 9.6% and Enphase Energy climbed 10.3%, according to the Associated Press, and the Invesco Solar ETF advanced 9.07%, according to Invezz. Health care and retail shares also rose: HCA Healthcare gained 8.6% and Dollar Tree rose 9%, according to the Associated Press, while Amazon rose 6.3%, Walmart gained 1.9% and Bank of America advanced 3.3%, according to Invezz.

Rows of solar panels in an open field under a clear sky

Losers: data centers, defense and oil

Shares tied to data centers came under pressure as investors weighed tighter regulation of artificial intelligence infrastructure. CoreWeave dropped 8.6% and Nvidia fell 1.8%, according to the Associated Press. In Texas, where Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the governor’s race after pledging an immediate moratorium on new data-center development, Goldman Sachs economists estimated that Democratic victories at state and local levels could lead to short-term moratoria affecting about 45% of planned U.S. capacity expansion, according to Invezz.

Exterior of a large data center building with cooling units and power lines under a cloudy sky

Defense and oil shares fell as well. Trump Media and Technology Group dropped 13.7% and Tesla fell 3.6%, according to the Associated Press, while Lockheed Martin fell 6.4%, Northrop Grumman fell 4.5% and General Dynamics fell 3%. ExxonMobil fell 3.5% and ConocoPhillips dropped 4.4%, and Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, fell 4.4% to $99.03 a barrel.

Three oil pumpjacks working in a flat grass field

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.92% from 4.95% late Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Stocks rose in much of the rest of the world, with indexes up 2.4% in Paris, 2.2% in Shanghai and 2% in London, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4%. “Earnings trump elections,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, told the Associated Press. The report also noted that President Donald Trump keeps executive authority over defense, foreign policy and some trade matters, so much about policy remains unsettled.

Reporting based on coverage by the Associated Press and Invezz.

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