US Stocks tumble amid election results uncertainty

The US stock market finished session steep lower on Wednesday, 09 November 2022, as investors digested the results of tighter than expected midterm elections and looked ahead to a closely watched consumer price inflation update due on Thursday, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 646.89 points, or 1.95%, to 32,513.94. The S&P500 index fell 79.54 points, or 2.08%, to 3,748.57. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 263.02 points, or 2.48%, to 10,353.17.

All 11 sectors of S&P500 index declined, with energy sector was worst performer with decline of 4.9%, followed by consumer discretionary (down 3.1%), information technology (down 2.7%), financials (down 1.7%), and materials (down 1.6%) issues.

The steep pullback on Wall Street came as uncertainty around the outcome of a tightly contested election as the GOP's midterm 'red wave' failed to materialize. Control of both houses of Congress remains up for grabs following yesterday's elections, although Republicans are projected to earn a narrow majority in the House. The performance by Republicans was not as strong as many had expected, with many candidates backed by former President Donald Trump underperforming. It remains unclear which party will have a majority in the Senate, as key races in Georgia, Nevada and Arizona currently remain undecided.

A divided government is often seen as positive for US stock markets, as gridlock between Congress and the White House reduces the likelihood of passing disruptive new regulations or tax increases. Among individual shares,

Among individual companies, shares of Disney declined 13.2% after the company posted disappointing quarterly earnings report and weak earnings forecast.

Shares of Meta Platforms surged by 5.1% after the Facebook parent announced plans to cut more than 11,000 jobs.

Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS was down 1.4% at $18.48, Tata Motors sank 3.7% to $26.40, HDFC Bank shed 1.1% to $64.25, Wipro fell 1.5% to $4.77, ICICI Bank shed 1.4% to $22.62, Azure Power Global fell 10.4% to $5.37, and Dr Reddy's Labs sank 0.7% to $56. WNS Holdings fell 0.3% to $81.81.

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