Early midterm results: Democrats flip North Carolina Senate seat; S&P futures dip 0.5%, Nasdaq futures down 0.9%
What happened
Early midterm results on Tuesday night showed Democrats performing strongly: former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper flipped the Republican-held Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection in Georgia, Sen. Mark Warner held Virginia, and CNN projected Democrats would take Senate races in Rhode Island, Delaware and New Jersey. The Wall Street Journal's live coverage said Democrats appeared well-positioned to retake the House and had a shot at flipping the Senate. In response, S&P 500 futures slid 0.5% and Nasdaq futures fell 0.9%, while the U.S. dollar softened, as investors priced in a higher probability of divided government.
Why it matters & what’s next are part of Pro, along with the audio summary.
Start your free 14-day trialWho’s affected
- S&P 500 index futures (broad U.S. equity market; slipped ~0.5%)
- Nasdaq 100 futures (tech-heavy; fell ~0.9%, reflecting tariff and regulatory risk to large-cap tech under divided government)
- U.S. dollar (softened as early results pointed to divided government)
- Healthcare and retail names (seen as relative beneficiaries if Democratic wins slow tariff escalation); AI/data-center stocks (seen as headwinds per Goldman Sachs tariff warning)
Sources