US shares had their best day in three months on Wednesday after the US midterm election results and oil plunged almost 9%

The big picture

The US midterm elections (the vote halfway through a president's term) were the big political news, with results still being counted. Markets took it calmly, partly because oil tumbled on hopes that pressure to end the Iran war will grow: Brent crude fell 8.7% to $94.62. Cheaper oil eases inflation fears, so the US 10-year yield slipped to 4.89% and the Dow jumped 3.0%, with the S&P 500 up 1.6% and the Nasdaq up 1.4%. Europe joined in (Stoxx 600 +1.8%, DAX +2.2%) and the FTSE 100 rose about 1.9% to around 10,838, its best day since May, led by banks. The VIX 'fear gauge' dropped 20% to 16.6.

Today and this week

Today: National Grid's half-year results and Ørsted's nine-month results this morning, then the Bank of England at 12:00, where a rise in Bank Rate from 3.75% to 4% is widely expected, its first rise since 2023. Friday 13:30: the US jobs report for October. Next week: US inflation on Tuesday 10 Nov, Vestas results on 11 Nov and UK growth figures on 12 Nov. Nvidia reports on 17 Nov, and SSE and Severn Trent on 18 Nov, the same day as UK inflation.