What are today's top business/market headlines?

Here's a roundup of today's top business and market headlines (November 4, 2026):

Markets & Election Watch
Stock futures are mixed this morning as investors digest U.S. midterm election results. US stock futures were mixed on Wednesday as investors monitored the midterm election results and assessed the latest corporate earnings, with preliminary polls indicating a potential shift in control of the House of Representatives to Democrats, while the Senate race remained uncertain. Investors are concerned that a Democratic victory across both chambers could bring tighter regulation of the AI sector and increased corporate oversight. Overall, stock futures fell as traders speculate Democrats headed for big wins in midterm elections.

AI Trade Volatility
The AI sector remains the dominant market theme. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 edged up 0.4% and the Nasdaq gained 0.7%, while the Dow fell 197 points, as a revival of the AI trade powered gains on Wall Street. Chipmakers rallied after a recent selloff fueled by concerns over massive capital spending on AI, with Nvidia rising 2.3% after four consecutive sessions of losses, while AMD gained 3.6%. Broadcom added 3.1% and Micron advanced 2.6%, and hyperscalers also gained, with Microsoft up 2.7%, Meta adding 2.4% and Oracle jumping 6%. However, Apple shares fell 1.9% after warning that rising memory chip costs could pressure holiday-quarter margins.

Earnings Movers
AMD surged more than 6% in after-hours trading after reporting stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue, boosting shares of other semiconductor companies. Elsewhere, Pfizer hiked its 2026 outlook as new products grow and tapped a company veteran as new CFO, while Yum Brands' earnings beat estimates, but a cyclospora outbreak weighed on Taco Bell. Disney plans several thousand layoffs, seeking to reduce some costs by 20%, and Ferrari raised its 2026 guidance after a Q3 earnings beat.

M&A News
A major semiconductor deal is making waves: Lumentum Holdings agreed to be acquired by Marvell Technology in an all-stock deal implying an enterprise value of $115 billion, with Lumentum holders to receive 4.500 Marvell shares per Lumentum share and about 33% ownership of the combined company. Additionally, ON Semiconductor agreed to acquire Ferric for $600 million in cash, with up to $175 million additional cash consideration tied to revenue milestones.

Crypto Security
A major crypto story continues to develop: Binance detailed how a compromised employee computer and internal AI tool allegedly enabled a $6.3 billion cryptocurrency theft and subsequent recovery efforts. Binance's co-CEO explained that hackers used fake job interviews and an AI tool to steal $6.3 billion in crypto.

Market Sentiment
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman raised alarm bells this week, saying he worries that the stock market is broken, saying the rise of speculative trading is leading to wild price swings thanks to the amount of leverage in the system, noting "stocks trade at prices that make no sense to me".

Asia Markets
Asian tech stocks looked set to rise after a revival in the artificial-intelligence trade lifted Wall Street, as investors awaited the results of the US midterm elections, with equity-index futures for South Korea and Taiwan pointing higher, while those for Australia fell and Japanese stock contracts edged lower as traders returned from a holiday.

Markets remain highly sensitive to both the unfolding midterm election results and ongoing questions about AI infrastructure spending returns, which have driven significant volatility over the past month.