Indecisive midterms, crypto collapse, Disney woes

By Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com — Ron DeSantis emerges as the biggest winner from the US midterm elections, but an expected tide of Republican victories fails to materialize. Walt Disney falls in the premarket due to fears of greater start-up losses for the streaming services and inflationary effects on the theme parks. Bitcoin falls to a two-year low as FTX’s near-collapse roils the crypto universe, and the US produces reports on oil inventories and world grain supply and demand. Here’s what you need to know in the financial markets on Wednesday 9 November.

1. DeSantis Cruises as GOP Moves to House Victory; Dems flip key Pennsylvania Senate seat

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis emerged as the big winner from the midterm elections, securing re-election in style and putting him in poll position for the GOP’s 2024 presidential bid.

In contrast, a number of Republican candidates with the high-profile endorsement of Donald Trump – including gubernatorial candidates Don Bolduc and Doug Mastriano – fared relatively poorly.

Democrat John Fetterman’s victory in a key Pennsylvania race left the GOP’s hopes of regaining control of the Senate hanging by a thread, but gains elsewhere appeared to be big enough to regain control of the House.

2. Disney hurt by streaming losses

Walt Disney (NYSE: ) shares in the premarket after the entertainment giant reported a bigger-than-expected loss at its Disney+ streaming operation.

Management said the loss, which more than doubled from a year earlier to $1.47 billion, was likely to narrow from now on as the operation scales up, although subscriber growth slowed after it lost the rights to the Indian Premier League cricket competition .

Weaker-than-expected performances by its theme parks and traditional TV operations meant operating profit — at $1.6 billion — was 30% below consensus forecasts.

3. Stocks set to open marginally lower; Meta confirms huge layoffs

US stocks are set to open lower later, with the Disney disappointment, along with the prospect of two years of political paralysis in Washington, weighing on sentiment.

By contrast, there was support from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: ), which confirmed it will lay off about 11,000 employees — 13% of its total — as it draws a line during a period of throwing money at long-term investments in the so-called Metaverse .

By 6:30 a.m. ET, was down 89 points, or 0.3%, while was down 0.1%, and was effectively unchanged. The Meta share rose 3.8 percent.

The economic calendar includes weekly updates on and , while the Federal Reserve and both are scheduled to speak.

Earnings season is shifting down a gear, with (NYSE: ) (early) and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: ) (late) among the few highlights.

4. Bitcoin hits two-year low as Binance deal fails to stop FTT rout

fell to its lowest in more than two years as the crypto space fell from the latest crisis of confidence triggered by the near-collapse of FTX.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto platform, agreed to buy FTX’s operations outside the US on Tuesday after FTX had been forced by a massive depositor drive to suspend client withdrawals.

, FTX’s original token, crumpled nonetheless. It lost nearly 80% after a warning from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao that the deal will only go ahead if his due diligence turns up no nasty surprises.

5. Oil lower on weak Chinese data, US stocks rally

Crude oil prices fell to their lowest in a week after Chinese inflation data surprised again to the downside, highlighting the economic weakness of the world’s biggest oil importer. rose just 0.1%, while falling year-on-year for the first time in nearly two years.

By 6:40 a.m. ET, was down 0.9% at $88.11, while was down 0.8% at $94.57 a barrel.

Sentiment was also hit by reports of a surprising 5.6 million barrel build in crude oil storage last week. The US government will release it at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the Department of Agriculture will also release world agricultural markets later.