© Reuters.
| By Jeffrey Smith, Investing.com |
Ron DeSantis emerges as the big winner of the midterm elections in the US, but the expected tide of victories for the Republican camp does not materialize. Shares of the entertainment giant Walt Disney dive in early trading, amid fears of greater losses around the launch of the company’s streaming services, and the effects of inflation on the theme parks its.
Bitcoin falls to two-year lows as FTX’s resistance to collapse shakes the crypto world, and the US releases reports on oil inventories and global grain supply and demand.
Here’s what you’ll need to know in the financial markets on Wednesday, November 9.
1. DeSantis wins easily, as the Republican Party approaches victory in the House of Representatives; Democrats manage to flip a Pennsylvania Senate seat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as the big winner of the midterm elections, securing re-election in numerical style, a victory that puts him in a strong position to become the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential candidate.
In contrast, several Republican candidates who received the high-profile backing of former US President Donald Trump, including gubernatorial candidates Don Bolduc and Doug Mastriano, posted relatively weak results.
Democratic candidate John Peterman’s victory in the key state of Pennsylvania has left the Republican Party’s hopes of regaining control of the Senate hanging in the balance, but its gains elsewhere appear big enough to regain control of the House.
2. Walt Disney stock was hurt by losses in the streaming business
Shares of entertainment giant Walt Disney (NYSE: ) fell nearly 8% in early trading after the company reported bigger-than-expected losses at its streaming business, Disney Plus.
The management said that the extent of the losses, which more than doubled compared to the same period last year, and grew to $1.47 billion, will probably be reduced from here on, as the activity increases, although the increase in the volume of subscriptions recorded a slowdown, after Disney lost the rights to broadcast the Premier Cricket League in India.
The weaker-than-expected performance of Walt Disney’s theme parks and traditional television divisions meant that operating profit, at $1.6 billion, was 30% below consensus forecasts.
3. US stock markets are expected to open with slight price drops; Meta confirms that it will hold a huge wave of layoffs
US stock markets are expected to open lower later in the day, as the disappointment from Walt Disney, coupled with expectations of two years of policy paralysis in Washington, weigh on sentiment.
On the other hand, there was support from the direction of the social media giant Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) (NASDAQ: ), which confirmed that it will lay off about 11,000 employees, 13% of its total workforce, while it puts behind it a period of “throwing” money at promising investments low in the so-called “metaverse”.
As of midday Wednesday, the price of the futures contracts on the index fell by 89 points, or 0.3%, while the contracts on the retreated by 0.1%, and the contracts on , remained unchanged. Meta’s stock rose 3.8%.
The economic calendar includes weekly reports on , while Fed governors are expected to deliver remarks.
Financial reporting season is winding down, with the few hot spots including the US construction giant reporting early, while the casino giant (NASDAQ: ) reporting later.
4. Bitcoin Hits Two-Year Low As Deal With Fails To Stop FTT Coin’s Avalanche
Deteriorated to over two-year lows as the crypto market was hit hard by the recent crisis of confidence stemming from the last-minute averted collapse of the FTX exchange.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto platform, agreed to acquire the operations of FTX exchange outside the US on Tuesday, after FTX was forced by a massive depositor flight to suspend its customers’ withdrawals.
, the home currency of the FTX exchange, crashed anyway. The currency lost almost 80% of its value, after a warning from the CEO and founder of Binance, Chengfeng Zahao, strongly conveyed the message that the deal would only be completed on the condition that the due diligence process that would be carried out would not raise any unpleasant surprises.
5. The price of oil fell against the background of the weakness of reports from China and the increase in stocks in the US
The price of crude oil fell to its lowest level in a week, after China’s inflation data again surprised for the worse, thus highlighting the economic weakness of the world’s largest oil importer. rose by only 0.1%, while falling compared to the same period last year for the first time in almost two years.
As of midday Wednesday, the price of futures fell by 0.9% to $88.11 per barrel, while the price of crude fell by 0.8% to $94.57 per barrel.
The sentiment was also hit as a result of the American Petroleum Institute report, which indicated a surprising increase of 5.6 million barrels in crude oil inventories last week. The US government will release its own later today, while the Department of Agriculture will also release its on global agricultural markets later today.