Global markets on Nov 3, 2026: Oil plunges, stocks mixed

1. U.S. MARKETS MIXED
Wall Street mixed as tech selling resumes.
On Nov 2, the Dow Jones rose 0.41% to 51,983.98; the S&P 500 fell 0.51% to 7,541.40; the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.07% to 25,164.32 amid renewed selling in technology/AI names. Consumer discretionary and materials led, while energy and information technology lagged. The 10-year Treasury yield fell about 2bp to 4.89–4.91%; the VIX rose about 11% to 21.57; Bitcoin fell 1.35% to $76,722.

2. SURPRISE MOVE: OIL SLUMPS
Oil has steepest drop in three months on diplomacy signals.
Brent fell about 7.6–8% to $104.2–104.8/bbl; WTI fell about 7.4% to $96.3–96.5/bbl, the steepest decline in almost three months. Reports indicated Iran's supreme leader approved the government's pursuit of talks with the U.S. and President Donald Trump signalled more time for diplomacy. The move reduced geopolitical risk premium, pressuring energy equities. COMEX gold gained 1.48% to $3,956.60/oz; silver gained 2.91% to $50.71/oz.

3. U.S. ECONOMY AND MIDTERM ELECTIONS
ISM manufacturing beats forecast; election day arrives.
The U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI rose to 55.5 in October, above the 54.6 consensus and prior reading of 54.5; the production index hit 59.0, the highest since November 2021. Prices paid eased to 75.2 from 77.9; factory employment eased to 52.4 from 52.7. Midterm elections are being held today; polls point to a possible shift in the balance of power in Congress, but results are not yet confirmed. Investors also await Friday's payrolls report.

4. CHINA EXPANDS LIQUIDITY SUPPORT
China launches new liquidity support tool.
The People's Bank of China is carrying out its third SFISF operation today, with a one-year term extendable as needed; 31 institutions have applied for more than RMB100bn. Authorities also cut the relending rate for share buyback/equity-holding loans from 1.25% to 1% and made the facility permanent. The CSRC said it will guide brokerages to optimise risk-control indicators, including the margin-financing ratio, collateral conversion ratio and maintenance guarantee ratio, to release financing space and stabilise market expectations.

5. APPLE AND PALANTIR REPORT RESULTS
Apple beats estimates but shares fall after hours.
Apple reported fiscal Q4 2026 revenue of $114.48bn, up 12% y/y and above the roughly $113.4bn consensus; EPS of $2.10 and net profit of $30.71bn. It guided Q1 FY2027 revenue growth of 7–10%, but shares fell after hours on margin guidance in CEO John Ternus' first earnings report. Palantir posted Q3 revenue of $2.313bn, up 96% y/y and its first quarter above $2bn; U.S. commercial revenue grew 148%; the company raised FY2026 growth guidance to about 91%.

6. AI DEALS AND CAPITAL RAISING
Marvell buys Lumentum; Oracle and Meta raise large funds.
Marvell Technology agreed to acquire Lumentum Holdings in an all-stock deal valued at about $115bn enterprise value, betting on optical networking for AI data centres; both stocks sold off. Oracle filed to raise $20bn, including $10bn in new common stock and $10bn in senior notes, to fund its AI build-out; shares fell about 6%. Meta plans cross-border bond offerings of at least $20bn in U.S. dollars and euros, its first euro bond. Anthropic's amended IPO filing showed Q3 revenue of nearly $17bn, up about 1,127% y/y, but a net loss of $104.04bn and purchase/lease commitments of about $895.4bn mostly for compute.

7. ASIA-PACIFIC AND RBA DECISION
Asian stocks mostly rise; RBA may hike rates.
The Shanghai Composite rose 1.08% to 3,638.03; Hang Seng rose 0.42% to 23,393; Nifty 50 rose 1.66% to 75,693; the Nikkei 225 fell 0.33% to 63,082. The Reserve Bank of Australia meets today at 2:30pm AEDT; 31 of 32 economists polled by Reuters expect a 25bp hike to 4.85%, an 18-year high, and money markets price roughly an 80% chance. The decision will steer the Australian dollar and regional sentiment.

What to watch today: Reserve Bank of Australia rate decision at 2:30pm AEDT.

*This roundup is for reference only and reflects multiple sources at the time of publication.*