Wall Street braces for US midterms, jobs data and key tech earnings

Wall Street heads into a week dominated by the US midterm elections, the October employment report and earnings from major tech firms. The elections on Tuesday will decide if Democrats can take the House while the Senate outcome remains unclear; Republicans currently hold both chambers. A shift in congressional control could alter President Trump’s agenda and add market uncertainty. Investors will also watch Friday’s October jobs numbers for clues on labour market strength and whether the Federal Reserve may raise rates again. The report follows Thursday data that showed the economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in Q3, helped by strong consumer spending and business investment in artificial intelligence. The Fed this week kept rates steady but upgraded its view of the economy. Tech earnings are set to flow in, with Apple reporting on Monday after its shares rose about 27% year‑to‑date. AMD, Qualcomm and Palantir will also release results, and more than 100 S&P 500 firms including McDonald’s, Amgen and ConocoPhillips are slated to report. Analysts will focus on revenue growth, profit margins, guidance and comments on lofty tech valuations. Concerns that AI hype has pushed tech multiples too high pushed the Nasdaq down 2.9% on Friday, while the S&P 500 fell 1.8% to 7,580.07 and the Dow dropped 1.1% to 51,770.31. Upcoming data releases this week include manufacturing PMI on Monday, the JOLTS survey on Tuesday, ADP employment and trade balance on Wednesday and the official employment report on Friday.

Context

Midterm elections often swing market sentiment because changes in congressional power can affect fiscal policy and regulation, while jobs data directly influences the Fed’s interest‑rate decisions.