Stocks Mostly Down Pre-Bell Ahead of Midterm Elections

07:53 AM EST, 11/03/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were mostly trending lower on Tuesday as traders turned their attention to the midterm elections. The S&P 500 edged down 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.5% in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 finished Monday trading in the red, while the Dow closed higher following a two-day decline. Investors will be closely watching the US midterm elections, as the outcome could reshape expectations for taxation, government spending and regulation over the next two years. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, along with 35 of the Senate's 100 seats, are up for election. The NBC News average of national polls shows that a majority of Americans prefer a Congress controlled by Democrats. This comes as President Donald Trump's approval ratings fell to 37% as of Tuesday from 42% at the start of the year amid higher energy prices due to the Iran war, according to The New York Times' daily average of polls. "A divided Congress could make major legislation harder to pass, limiting changes to taxes and regulation," Saxo Bank said in a note. "Republican control of both chambers could preserve greater room for Trump's agenda. A Democratic sweep could increase political scrutiny and strengthen congressional influence over spending." Goldman Sachs said in a note that prediction markets indicated that Democrats were likely to win control of the House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, while the outcome of the Senate races remained more uncertain. The bank expects only modest changes to fiscal policy under a Democratic-controlled House, although proposals to reverse previous spending cuts could lead to a slight increase in government spending. Democrats could also seek to reverse some tariffs, though the impact would likely be limited, Goldman said. Treasury yields were pointing higher early Tuesday, with the two-year rate increasing 1.3 basis points to 4.6% and the 10-year rate adding 2.3 basis points to 4.92%. Shares of Apple (AAPL) were down nearly 4% pre-bell after the iPhone maker issued a fiscal first-quarter gross margin outlook below Wall Street's estimates. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) dropped 7.5% following the software maker's latest financial results. Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Lumentum (LITE) rebounded 2.6% and 1.7%, respectively, from double-digit declines at the close of Monday's trading session, after the chip manufacturer agreed to acquire the optical and photonic products maker in an all-stock deal worth about $115 billion. Shopify (SHOP), Pfizer (PFE), Apollo Global Management (APO), Eaton (ETN), Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), Yum! Brands (YUM), Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), BioNTech (BNTX) and DuPont de Nemours (DD) are scheduled to release their quarterly results before the bell, among others. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Amgen (AMGN) and Arista Networks (ANET) post their earnings after the markets close. West Texas Intermediate crude oil inclined 1% to $97.42 a barrel, while Brent advanced 0.7% to $105.52 a barrel. The US launched an attack on Iran's Qeshm Island, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing US officials. The strikes are understood to be the latest in a series of limited military actions secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks, according to The Journal. Iran said Monday that discussions with Washington to end their war are ongoing, CNBC reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media outlet Islamic Republic News Agency that Tehran is prepared to negotiate a diplomatic settlement with the US, but is not ruling out military action if necessary. Tuesday's thin economic calendar has the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for September at 10 am ET. Spot gold fell 1.3% to $3,919 per troy ounce, while bitcoin nudged up 0.3% to $77,022.