US Stocks Slip as Oil Rebounds Before Midterms: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — US stock futures fell as oil prices rebounded on worries that America and Iran remain far apart on a peace deal, adding to subdued risk sentiment before voting starts in the midterm elections.
S&P 500 contracts slipped 0.2%. Brent crude rose 1.7% to above $106 a barrel, with Reuters reporting that significant obstacles to ending the war remained despite signs from both Washington and Tehran that they were open to a diplomatic settlement. Flat Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a steadier start for the artificial intelligence trade after the index entered a technical correction.
Treasuries were little changed ahead of the latest job openings report, the first in a slate of releases on the state of US employment this week. The dollar held steady, while gold resumed its downward trend to trade near $3,900 an ounce.
Traders are treading cautiously just hours before polls open, with control of the US Congress up for grabs. The election is adding another layer of risk for investors already navigating geopolitical crosswinds at a time when the once-dominant AI trade is also enduring a sharp pullback.
“Investors are going into the midterms very cautious,” said Alexandre Drabowicz, chief investment officer at Indosuez Wealth Management. “Historically, the S&P typically resumes its climb afterwards, and fundamentals remain very, very solid. We need to clear the event.”
The Stoxx 600 fell 0.6%, catching up with US losses that came after Monday’s European close. In Asia, MSCI Inc.’s regional index slipped 1.1%, with South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi Index sliding more than 3%.
Meanwhile, the yuan ended its longest winning streak in three decades after the People’s Bank of China moved to cool its rally by asking banks to hold more foreign currencies in reserve.
Corporate Highlights:
Schaeffler AG is set to close five sites in Europe and cut jobs as the supplier faces a persistent downturn in demand for auto components and high costs in Germany. Bayer AG raised its annual profit outlook after increased demand for some of its newer drugs drove a better-than-expected performance at its pharmaceutical unit. Palantir Technologies Inc., the AI-powered data and analytics platform that counts the US military among its chief customers, issued a quarterly outlook that pointed to a potential slowdown in sales growth. Apple Inc. delivered a mixed outlook to investors in its first quarterly report under Chief Executive Officer John Ternus, with narrower profit margins overshadowing an upbeat sales forecast. The heads of Marvell Technology Inc. and Lumentum Holdings Inc. got the blessing of Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang before striking their nearly $103 billion tie-up. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.6% as of 8:32 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 1.7% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1197 The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.93 per dollar The offshore yuan fell 0.4% to 6.6732 per dollar The British pound was little changed at $1.3418 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $76,515.96 Ether fell 0.1% to $2,251.93 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.91% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.31% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 5.23% Commodities
Brent crude rose 1.7% to $106.50 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.9% to $3,909.45 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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