A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesUSA Stock futures rose Wednesday night, rallying following a sharp drop in the price of oil and certainty surrounding Democratic victories in the midterm elections. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% and Nasdaq-100 futures were flat. After the bell on Wednesday, chipmaker Qualcomm reported earnings that beat estimates but fell 6.5%. AppLovin, the AI-powered advertising company, rose nearly 24% after delivering better-than-expected results and issuing guidance that beat estimates. Stocks rose on Wednesday as oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures falling more than 8% to settle at $88.12 a barrel. The Dow Jones gained more than 1,500 points, or 3%, to record its best day since April 2025, while the S&P 500 gained 1.6%. Those moves came after Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.49% on Thursday, while the Topix rose more than 2%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.33% and the small-cap, technology-focused Kosdaq fell 1.24%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.39%. Trading in the United States on Wednesday showed that investors were adjusting to the midterm results, which showed Democrats flipping control of the House of Representatives and the Senate (securing comfortable majorities in both chambers) and also in a number of governorships. Consumer discretionary names like Walmart helped lead the way higher on Wednesday, with the retail giant rising more than 3% in the regular session. At the same time, names linked to data center construction, such as CoreWeave, fell on concerns of an industry backlash in light of election results in several states. In Texas, for example, Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the gubernatorial election after calling for tighter restrictions on data center development. But Jordan Watson, portfolio manager at Tandem Investment Advisors, said the big rally and move away from AI names could be temporary. “We may be headed for greater volatility as investors digest the election results and potential political implications,” he said. “I wouldn’t see [Wednesday’s equity trading] “It’s not a clear signal, but rather a call for some common sense around how much capital is invested in building AI infrastructure and whether those investments will generate the returns investors expect.”
