The VIX fell 20.26% to 16.61 on Wednesday, its biggest one-day percentage decline since April 2025, after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, removing a major near-term political uncertainty. The S&P 500 rose 1.6%, the Nasdaq gained 1.4% and the Dow surged roughly 3%, as investors bet that divided government could reduce abrupt policy shifts from Washington. Lower oil prices, tied to expectations that the result could pressure President Donald Trump to de-escalate the Iran conflict, pushed Treasury yields down. The article says volatility has not disappeared but shifted from election uncertainty to policy risks such as AI regulation, debt-ceiling fights and shutdown threats. Large hyperscalers including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta gained, while data-center operators and semiconductor stocks fell on concerns that new infrastructure could face tighter regulation.
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Related tickers and likely impact
QQQ
▼ Likely negativeInvesco QQQ Trust
Relevance: high
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 691.95 |
| Change that session | +0.97% |
SPY
▼ Likely negativeSPDR S&P 500 ETF
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 766.73 |
| Change that session | +1.64% |
BTC/USDT
▼ Likely negativeBitcoin
Relevance: low
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Layer 1 |
| Market cap | $1.6T |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 80,504.01 |
| Change that session | +3.94% |
XAU/USD
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: low
| Market | Gold |
|---|---|
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 4,060.57 |
| Change that session | +3.32% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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