Daily Brief: Iran Weighs Hormuz Plan as US Midterms Near

Iran said it was considering a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days, as its Revolutionary Guards said two tankers had hit mines there. President Donald Trump held his final rallies before Tuesday's US midterm elections, oil fell on hopes for diplomacy and technology stocks stayed volatile.

Iran weighs two-day plan to reopen Hormuz

Iran is considering a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States meets its demands, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday, calling it "another indication of Iran's good-faith approach". Iranian negotiators left Doha on Sunday after three days of talks with Qatari mediators, and an official told Reuters talks had not stalled. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said two tankers "exploded" after hitting mines, a claim not independently confirmed. Trump said the war would end "very soon, one way or the other".

Trump ends campaign as final polls favour Democrats

Trump held his final rallies before Tuesday's midterm elections in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday. Final polls by The New York Times and Siena University, conducted from 23 October to 1 November, showed Democrats ahead in seven battleground Senate races, though five were within the margin of error. In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton led Republican Senator Roger Marshall by 49% to 44%. More than 52 million Americans had already voted, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab.

White House prepares to govern without Congress

The White House has spent months preparing to advance Trump's agenda through executive power if Democrats win Congress, a White House official and two people familiar with the plans told Reuters on Sunday. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Budget Director Russell Vought have worked with the White House Counsel's Office since April on actions covering immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending. Spokeswoman Lauren Bis rejected the idea of Republican losses. Republicans hold the House by 218 seats to 214.

Asian shares mixed after Wall Street tech rout

Asian stocks were mixed on Monday after Wall Street's worst day since June on Friday, when the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9% and the S&P 500 1.8%, according to the Associated Press (AP). South Korea's Kospi closed 2.2% higher, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 63,081.64. Europe opened cautiously, with Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both down 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%. The US 10-year Treasury yield held at 4.94%, Bloomberg reported.

Kioxia slump revives doubts over AI chip boom

Shares in Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings fell 15.8% to 11,345 yen on Monday after its profit outlook disappointed investors. The company forecast adjusted operating profit of about 2 trillion yen for October to December, roughly 15% below market expectations, despite record results for the previous quarter. Rival SK Hynix rose more than 4% in Seoul. Disappointing results from Alphabet and Amazon last week have deepened doubts over whether heavy artificial intelligence (AI) spending will pay off quickly, AP and Bloomberg reported.

OPEC+ holds output as oil falls on diplomacy

Seven core members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) agreed on Sunday to keep December output targets unchanged, the group said. Most members are pumping below their targets because the Iran war has disrupted exports, and about 2 million barrels per day of cuts remain until the end of 2026. The full group meets on 29 November to set 2027 quotas. Brent crude fell more than 3% to about $110 a barrel early on Monday as hopes for Iran diplomacy eased supply fears.

China calls in banks to support slumping stocks

China's central bank planned to meet financial regulators and major banks on Monday to discuss improving a relending programme that funds share buybacks, the Chinese outlet Cailian reported. Chinese stocks have fallen for a record 12 straight weeks, and the CSI 300 index lost 8.5% in October, its worst month in more than a decade. A private survey on Monday put the RatingDog manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) at 52.0 for October, above forecasts. The Shanghai Composite rose about 1%.

Russian strikes cut power across Ukraine

Russian strikes left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian households without power on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after overnight attacks on energy infrastructure in four regions. Ukraine's air force said it shot down 371 of 433 drones launched since Saturday evening. In Russia, Nizhny Novgorod Governor Gleb Nikitin said a "massive drone attack" caused "significant damage" to an industrial site in the Kstovo district, where Ukrainian media reported a refinery was hit.

German ministers vow tough response to Frankfurt riots

German ministers promised severe penalties after youth protests in Frankfurt turned into rioting and looting at the weekend, injuring more than 100 police officers, according to Roman Poseck, interior minister of the state of Hesse. He told a news conference on Sunday that police had arrested 54 people aged 13 to 29. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said perpetrators would be identified and held accountable. Protests organised by the youth initiative "Gen Z regelt" drew tens of thousands across Germany, mostly peacefully.

Binance sees billions withdrawn after record hack

Binance customers withdrew $4.6 billion and deposited $1 billion after the cryptocurrency exchange began restoring withdrawals on Sunday, leaving a net outflow of $3.6 billion, Bloomberg and Cointelegraph reported. Data from DefiLlama showed net outflows of $5.8 billion over 24 hours. Hackers stole about $6.3 billion from the exchange last week in an attack the FBI has attributed to North Korea. Bitcoin rose 0.9% to about $78,480 in Asian trading on Monday, Bloomberg reported.

Business jet crash kills nine in Florida

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed beside a busy road in Palm Beach County, Florida, at about 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, killing all nine people on board, officials said. The aircraft was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the crash "cataclysmic" and said there appeared to be no casualties on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Authorities evacuated about 600 nearby residents.