Stock futures fall as Democrats win big in midterms with traders betting they slow data center buildout: Live updates

Stock futures dropped as traders speculated that Democrats were headed for majority control of Congress and some key gubernatorial wins in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 traded 1% lower, while Nasdaq-100 futures shed 1.7%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 341 points, or 0.6%.

The Democratic Party is also now projected to win both chambers of Congress, according to The Associated Press. The AP also projected that Texas Democratic governor candidate Gina Hinojosa is the winner over Republican incumbent Greg Abbott. Hinojosa has pledged a moratorium on data centers in the key tech hub.

Democrats securing a sizable majority in the House and Senate — the so-called blue wave scenario — would pressure the market and especially stocks related to the artificial intelligence buildout, according to some on Wall Street. Investors fear a big Democratic win could mean more restrictions on data centers nationwide. AI-linked stocks have already pulled back in recent weeks on concern about a slowing pace in data-center spending.

Big Tech shares Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia were all trading lower in overnight trading on Robinhood. High-risk data center play CoreWeave was down 4% in Robinhood overnight trading, while Elon Musk’s SpaceX was off by 5% on Robinhood.

Equities “trended lower as it’s looked more likely that Democrats are going to pick up the House and most likely the Senate,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, Tuesday evening as futures were pulling back.

He added: “If you get some governorships that are Democratic, what does that mean for the data center buildout, which has already seen a lot of skepticism over the last couple weeks in terms of the hyperscaler capex spending?”

To be sure, the polls have yet to fully close in all states. Election nights have often shown wild swings in markets. Many investors also believe any market move from this election would be short lived.

AMD shares initially surged double digits in post-market action after the company, a key player in the AI trade, reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past analyst expectations. The stock was last 5% higher on Robinhood as stock market futures traded lower.

On the overall market, investors believe a blue wave would also be a headwind as it likely rules out any more business-friendly policies like tax breaks and possibly increases scrutiny on industries like banking.

Renewable shares like solar stocks traded higher in the post market on speculation a Democratic majority in Congress would halt policies by President Donald Trump taken against the industry. The Invesco Solar ETF was up 3% in Robinhood trading.