Dow jumps 1,500 points as Brent oil falls below $95 a barrel

As of 2:54 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026

U.S. stocks were sharply higher midday Wednesday, Nov. 4, and oil prices tumbled, after what The Associated Press described as President Donald Trump's party losing its sole control of Washington in the midterm elections.

As of 1:11 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 was up 1.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,501 points, or 2.9%, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.1% higher, AP reported.

Later, as of 2:52 p.m. ET, the Dow was up 1,535 points, or 3.0%, the S&P 500 was up 1.7% and the Nasdaq was up 1.7%, according to Yahoo Finance market data.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down 8.8% at $94.51 a barrel in AP's 1:20 p.m. ET report, below $100 for the first time in nearly a month, according to AP. Earlier, as of 12:36 p.m. ET, CNBC reported Brent down more than 9% at $93.91 and U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate down nearly 9% at $87.59. Oil futures have fallen more than 14% this week, CNBC reported. As of 2:42 p.m. ET, Brent was at $94.87, down 8.4%, and WTI was at $88.37, down 8.0%, according to Yahoo Finance market data. Prices were still moving, and the day's settlement had not been posted at the time of writing.

Why oil is falling

Analysts told CNBC the oil market now believes Trump has a bigger incentive to cut a deal with Iran. "The elections are leading the market to conclude that Trump might now be inclined to make a deal," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. Vice President JD Vance blamed the war with Iran, which drove oil prices up, for his party's losses, AP reported.

Not everyone expects the slide to last. The sell-off "could be getting a bit overdone," Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC, told CNBC. Brent has swung between roughly $70 and $120 a barrel since just before the war with Iran began, according to AP.

Winners and losers

Solar companies, dollar stores and hospital owners led the gains, AP reported. First Solar jumped 6.4%, Enphase Energy climbed 6.2%, Dollar Tree rose 8.9% and HCA Healthcare gained 10.6%. Big oil companies fell, with ExxonMobil down 5.3% and ConocoPhillips down 5.9%. Defense contractors also dropped, including Lockheed Martin, down 6.9%, Northrop Grumman, down 4.4%, and General Dynamics, down 2.3%.

Trump Media & Technology Group fell 15.9%. Tesla lost 2%, and SpaceX sank 3.4%. In AI, Nvidia slipped 1.4% and CoreWeave dropped 9.1%, while Alphabet rose 4.4% and Advanced Micro Devices added 0.5% after reporting much stronger quarterly profit than analysts expected, AP said.

Strategists had urged investors not to get swept up in the election. "Earnings trump elections," Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, told AP.

Bonds and global markets

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.91% from 4.95% late Tuesday, AP reported. Stocks rose 2% in Paris, 2.2% in Shanghai and 1.8% in London, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.4%.