Bilig's Daily Brief: Trump concedes Iran war cost midterms as oil plunges

President Donald Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran hurt Republicans in Tuesday's midterm elections, as Democrats vowed to use their new control of Congress to end it. Oil fell almost 9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best day since April 2025, while Asian chipmakers slumped on fears of tighter US rules on artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.

Trump says Iran war largely cost Republicans

Trump said on Wednesday it was "largely true" that the war with Iran had cost Republicans in the midterms "because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term". Speaking to reporters at the White House, he added: "If I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again." Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that "the reason we lost is the war", AFP reported. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said "this war must end".

Speaker Johnson to step aside as Republican leader

House Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek to lead House Republicans in the new Congress after Democrats won the chamber, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing two people familiar with his decision. Representatives Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan are expected to compete for the post next week. Two Senate races were still uncalled on Wednesday night: Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 votes in Mississippi, and Democrat Mary Peltola led Senator Dan Sullivan by 637 votes in Alaska, Al Jazeera reported.

Dow posts best day since April 2025 as oil sinks

US stocks rallied on Wednesday as investors welcomed divided government and bet on an end to the Iran war. The Dow jumped 1,569.40 points, or 3.03%, to 53,356.12, its best session since April 2025, ABC News reported. The S&P 500 rose 1.58% to 7,688.62 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.44% to 25,736.51. Brent crude fell 8.7% to $94.62 a barrel, a two-month low. Energy and defence shares fell. Gold rose more than 3% to above $4,000 an ounce, and Treasury yields fell to a two-month low.

Asian chip stocks slump on data centre fears

Chipmakers led a sharp sell-off in Asia on Thursday on fears that a Democratic-controlled Congress could tighten rules on AI data centres. South Korea's Kospi closed 5.28% lower at 5,383.80, with SK Hynix down 8.5%, Aju Press reported. Taiwan's main index fell about 3%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 also lost ground as Advantest and Tokyo Electron fell sharply. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose about 3%, and lower oil prices supported Indian shares, according to AP and Reuters.

Voters reject data centres in local ballots

Voters rejected data centre projects in nearly all of about 40 local ballot measures held across 10 US states on Tuesday, according to preliminary results reported by Route Fifty and Capital B News. Harwood, North Dakota, was the only place where the industry prevailed. Emporia, Kansas, approved a ban on "high impact data centers" with just over 60% of the vote. Ed FitzGerald of the campaign group Data Center Resistance called the results "nothing short of a political earthquake".

Khamenei says US hostility will persist

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Wednesday that US hostility towards Iran would not change with shifts in party control, and warned that any renewed US aggression would draw a response on a "much greater scale", Asharq Al-Awsat reported. On Thursday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers and a tugboat had caught fire after trying to use "unauthorised routes" through the Strait of Hormuz, one after striking a mine, Reuters reported. The claim could not be independently verified.

China confirms talks on three-leader summit

China said on Wednesday it was in contact with Russia and the United States about a possible meeting of the three countries' leaders, the first time Beijing has confirmed such talks. "China is in communication with relevant parties regarding a meeting between the three heads of state," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing, without giving details. The meeting could take place at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen on 18 and 19 November, according to media reports.

Ukraine aid site toll rises to 40

The death toll from Monday's Russian bombing of an aid centre in Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, rose to 40, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday, adding that more than 30 people might still be under the rubble. Regional officials gave a toll of 37, AP reported. Kyiv's water supply was restored on Wednesday after Russian strikes on the power grid caused what experts called the capital's worst water outage of the war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow counted on Trump "continuing his peacemaking efforts".

France braces for nationwide strikes and protests

Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to march in French cities on Thursday as unions, including the CGT, staged nationwide strikes over wages and living costs, Reuters and AP reported. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 70,000 police would be deployed, and domestic intelligence expected 500,000 to 700,000 protesters outside Paris. Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said it was "out of the question to relive October 17", referring to last month's riots and looting.

Israeli parties split over next prime minister

Israeli President Isaac Herzog began consultations on Wednesday on who should form the next government, after receiving certified results of the 27 October election. Shas and the Religious Zionist Party recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu and the Arab-led Ra'am party backed former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, Israeli media reported. Neither candidate was expected to secure the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Consultations end on Thursday.

Bank of England expected to raise rates

The Bank of England was widely expected to raise interest rates on Thursday for the first time in about three years, as the Iran war adds to inflation pressure, Reuters reported. Traders expect a quarter-point rise in Bank Rate to 4% from 3.75%, the Press Association reported, after consumer price inflation reached 3.5% in September, its highest in 11 months. Sterling traded near a seven-week high against the dollar on Thursday morning.