U.S. stocks surge, and the Dow soars 1,500 points as Brent oil’s price drops below $95 per barrel

US shares rose sharply after Republicans lost their sole control of Congress in the midterm elections, with the Dow up 1,519 points and Brent crude falling below $100 a barrel. The moves reflect investors reassessing which businesses and policies may benefit from the result, although strategists cautioned that company earnings and interest rates are more important to markets over time.

At 2.06pm Eastern time, the S&P 500 was up 1.8%, the Dow 2.9% and the Nasdaq 1.9%. Solar firms, dollar stores and hospital owners advanced, while Trump Media fell 16.6%; Tesla and SpaceX also declined. Analysts said divided control of Washington can limit major policy shifts, but uncertainty remains over possible changes to AI regulation, tariffs and trade.