Dow futures slip as tech selloff deepens and traders price a Democratic Senate win
New York equity futures pointed lower on Tuesday as a deepening selloff in technology stocks met fresh caution before the US midterm elections, with prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi putting Democratic control of the Senate at 77% and 76% respectively.
Dow futures were down 0.50% and S&P 500 futures 0.17%, while Nasdaq futures edged up 0.03%. The pressure on tech intensified after Apple fell 2% in after-hours trading on a margin outlook the market found disappointing and fourth-quarter iPad sales that came in below Wall Street estimates.
European markets fell across the board, with the STOXX 600 down 0.73%, Germany's DAX 0.89% lower and France's CAC 40 off 0.54%. In Asia-Pacific, technology losses in South Korea and Taiwan led most markets lower, with Shanghai down 0.82%; Japan was closed for a public holiday. Australia's central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.85%, the highest since November 2008.
Oil rose after the United States struck Iran's Qeshm island, heightening concern about an escalation in the eight-month conflict: WTI gained 1.57% to $97.97 a barrel and Brent 1.73% to $106.58. Iron ore on the Dalian exchange fell 0.74% to 671 yuan ($100.93) on rising supply from major producers and weak Chinese steel demand. Bitcoin traded at $76,480.60, down 0.40% over 24 hours.
Investors now await September's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and industrial orders data. Republicans under President Donald Trump are fighting to hold Congress, with polls pointing to a Democratic win in the House while the Senate race remains undecided.
What it means for Pakistan: A Democratic sweep or a divided Congress would shape the US dollar, Treasury yields and risk appetite that feed directly into the rupee and the KSE-100, and Pakistani holders of bitcoin and other digital assets take their price cues from the same global risk trade now weighing on Nasdaq. Any post-election move in Washington's stance on digital asset legislation would also set the tone for Pakistan's own VASP framework under PVARA, which is still being built out.
