How Wall Street responded to the midterms

Democrats’ sweeping midterm victory sent sharp signals across Wall Street this week, with the biggest swings hitting companies tied to the AI boom. Investors have piled into data-center and AI supply chains—chipmakers, power providers, cooling systems and cloud platforms—but growing concern that a Democratic Congress could slow further data-center development, especially in Texas, drove volatility. Nvidia and Lam Research fell sharply after Tuesday as fears intensified. Amazon and other hyperscalers fared better. Defense and oil stocks also slid: defense firms lost 4% to 12% and energy names declined on expectations for an end to the U.S.-Iran war. Hospital shares rose, while liquor and some tariff-exposed sectors gained on hopes for relief.