Defence and Oil Stocks Fall After Midterms

MARKETS · US MIDTERMS

Published Saturday, 7 November, 12:50 p.m. ET · Source: closing prices of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, 3 to 6 November 2026

Wall Street had a rough week after the 3 November US midterm elections, in which Democrats won Congress. Between the close on election day, Tuesday 3 November, and the close on Friday 6 November, defence, oil and artificial-intelligence stocks fell while hospital operators rose.

Among the foreign companies we checked, the biggest losers were Latin American oil companies listed in New York. Petrobras fell 12.1% and Argentina’s YPF 13.7%.

Defence and Oil Take the Hit

Lockheed Martin fell 11.3%, RTX (a US missile and jet-engine maker) 7.0%, General Dynamics 5.5% and Northrop Grumman 4.6% between the close on election day and the close on Friday. Exxon Mobil lost 6.5% and the refiner Phillips 66 lost 9.6%.

One reading is that investors fear a Democratic Congress will curb military spending, a worry investors voiced about defence stocks. That is a market judgment, not a statement from any company, and the oil moves have no such stated link.

Latin American Oil Shares Fell Harder

Petrobras, Brazil’s oil giant, fell 12.1% in New York trading, from US$21.08 to US$18.53 a share. YPF, Argentina’s oil company, fell 13.7%, from US$44.81 to US$38.66.

Ecopetrol, Colombia’s oil company, fell 6.0%, from US$16.54 to US$15.55. A fund that tracks US energy companies fell 7.6%, so Petrobras and YPF fell by more than the US sector.

Vale, Brazil’s iron-ore miner, moved the other way and rose 5.6%, from US$10.98 to US$11.59. We have no evidence of why, and the gap shows the oil moves were not a general sell-off of Latin American shares.

Tech Stocks Slide

Nvidia, the leading maker of artificial-intelligence chips, fell 9.7%, and Tesla fell 10.1%. Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns the social network Truth Social, lost 32.9%, from US$5.95 to US$3.99.

No company has tied its decline to the election. The wider market also fell over the same days, as the S&P 500 fund’s loss shows.

Hospitals and Homebuilders Gain

HCA Healthcare rose 6.9%, Tenet Healthcare 6.2% and Universal Health Services 10.4%. No company has said why its shares rose. Medicaid, the public health insurance for low-income Americans, is a programme hospital operators depend on, and Congress sets its funding.

An exchange-traded fund that holds US homebuilders, which tracks companies exposed to housing, rose 3.2%. A fund that tracks the S&P 500, the main index of large US companies, fell 2.5% over the same three sessions.

What It Means for You

Investors who hold Latin American oil shares through American depositary receipts (ADRs), US-listed certificates that represent shares of a foreign company, were among the sharpest losers in the group of stocks we checked. The move shows how closely these shares follow US politics and energy prices.

The next test is the US inflation report for October, scheduled for Tuesday 10 November at 8:30 a.m. ET. Our reports cover the political side, including what the midterms mean for Argentina’s debt and what comes next in Washington.

What Is Not Known

No company has tied its share price to the election, so every explanation here is an interpretation. It is also unclear how much of the fall will last once the new Congress takes office and sets its agenda.

More: Argentina Debt Risk Jumps After US Midterms; What Happens Next After the US Midterms; US Midterms and Trump Pressure on Brazil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which stocks fell after the Democratic win?

Between 3 and 6 November, Lockheed Martin fell 11.3%, Exxon Mobil 6.5%, Nvidia 9.7% and Tesla 10.1%. Petrobras and YPF fell 12.1% and 13.7%.

Which stocks rose?

Hospital operators rose: HCA 6.9%, Tenet 6.2% and Universal Health Services 10.4%. A homebuilder fund also rose 3.2%.

Did the election cause the moves?

No company has said so, and the wider market also fell over the same days. Investors’ expectations about a Democratic Congress are one plausible reason.

When is the next US inflation report?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the October consumer price index on Tuesday 10 November at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Sources: New York Stock Exchange; Nasdaq; daily closing prices for 3 to 6 November 2026 from a commercial market-data feed; US Bureau of Labor Statistics release calendar.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error

LatAm Markets: Live Signals → — real-time movers, turnover leaders and FX across Latin America.