Rising expectations of a Democratic sweep of Congress are roiling financial markets! US stock futures, the dollar, Bitcoin and copper prices are all under pressure in unison, while US Treasuries are instead drawing strong demand.

Title context: Rising expectations of a Democratic sweep of Congress are roiling financial markets! US stock futures, the dollar, Bitcoin and copper prices are all under pressure in unison, while US Treasuries are instead drawing strong demand. Text: Initial results from the US midterm elections show that the likelihood of Democrats winning majority seats in both chambers of Congress is rising. And this risk is spilling over into financial markets. The three major US stock index futures all fellas of press time, Dow futures were down 0.83%, S&P 500 futures were down 1.23%, and Nasdaq futures were down 2.14%. The dollar also weakened in tandem, falling 0.47% to 101.39. US Treasuries, by contrast, rosethe 10-year Treasury yield fell 5 basis points to 4.899%; the 30-year Treasury yield fell 3.4 basis points to 5.290%. Bitcoin edged lower, trading at $76,000. Copper prices fell for a second consecutive trading day. Prediction market Kalshi currently sees a 99% probability that Democrats will win control of the House of Representatives, with the probability of winning control of the Senate at a similar level, meaning Democrats are expected to control both chambers of Congress at the same time. US media predicted on the evening of November 3 that Democrats will retake multiple House seats from Republicans in this midterm election and regain control of the House. Multiple news organizations forecast that Democrats will win a majority of House seats. Democrats have strong momentum in this election, driven mainly by voter dissatisfaction, which has been further aggravated by cost-of-living issues and an unpopular war with Iran. According to reports, on November 3 local time, former North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper defeated Republican candidate Michael Whatley, who was backed by US President Trump, in the federal Senate election, winning a key Senate seat for Democrats. Cooper's victory broke Republicans' 18-year winning streak in North Carolina federal Senate elections, making him the first Democrat in 18 years to win a federal Senate election in the state. Investors believe that a possible landslide victory by Democrats would be a potential blow to the stock market and the dollar, because it would mean stricter regulatory scrutiny, especially for high-growth technology companies and artificial intelligence companies. Dilin Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd. in Melbourne, Australia, said: "A stronger Democratic performance has intensified market uncertainty, especially concerns that corporate regulation may become stricter and that AI spending will face more scrutiny. However, tech stock valuations were already under pressure, so this election is more amplifying existing market worries rather than single-handedly triggering this selloff." David Forrester, a senior strategist at Credit Agricole in Singapore, said that "the Achilles' heel of the dollar is being exposed," and the dollar's fate is closely tied to the AI boom. He said: "If Democrats produce a 'blue wave' that obstructs data center construction and weakens the AI boom, it will put pressure on the dollar." At the same time, if political gridlock limits further tax cuts and government spending, US Treasuries are expected to benefit, because that would ease market concerns about the scale of federal government borrowing. If Democrats take over the House, the likelihood of the Trump administration introducing legislative measures that further expand the fiscal deficit will decrease. With US debt at about $40 trillion, bond investors have been uneasy about the US fiscal outlook. Political gridlock could reduce the risk of further government spending increases or tax cuts, since those measures would all require the US Treasury to issue more government bonds for financing. Brij Khurana, a portfolio manager at Wellington Management, said: "Divided government means fiscal spending will be lower than in the past few years. Historically, whenever divided government has occurred, it has usually been quite favorable for US Treasuries." For the cryptocurrency market, the most direct concern right now is that a Democratic takeover of Congress could stall industry-backed legislation and expose digital asset companies to stricter regulatory scrutiny. Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, said: "Sentiment is cautious, but this is not yet capitulation selling. The options market shows investors are hedging positions they already hold and expect any election-related volatility to be short-lived." She added: "With the Clarity Act already stalled in the Senate, a change in committee control most likely means renegotiation rather than a rapid resumption of the legislative process. The market has largely priced this in." At present, Bitcoin trading has limited value as a gauge of overall market sentiment. The cryptocurrency market is struggling to digest the impact of last week's $6.3 billion hack of Binance. At the same time, retail investor enthusiasm has also weakened amid the AI boom. These pressures make it harder for the market to distinguish macro-driven price swings from industry-specific problems that were already weighing on digital assets. Damien Loh, chief investment officer at Ericsenz Capital, said: "Overall, short-term sentiment in the cryptocurrency market is one of moderate panic, while the long-term outlook is full of uncertainty. The short-term panic is because cryptocurrencies are still following the broader risk-asset trend, while the tech stock selloff and the possibility of a restart of the Middle East war are both bringing some downward pressure." In recent weeks, copper prices have been under pressure due to unease over the outlook for spending in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Copper is widely used in data centers and power transmission. On Tuesday, copper prices fell below $14,000 per ton for the first time since September, risking a break out of the trading range they have broadly maintained over the past two months. In response, an analyst at Shuohe Asset Management Co. said: "Traders tend to lean slightly risk-averse before midterm election results are known. Copper prices have been catching down in recent weeks, and future moves will depend to a large extent on the performance of the US stock market."