How UK shares reacted to US midterm election result

Voters caused some surprising results in the US overnight, making the next couple of years tough for President Trump. Graeme Evans reveals the winners and losers.

4th November 2026 13:41

by Graeme Evans from interactive investor

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US President Donald Trump pictured in Florida. Photo: Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images.

The blue sweep of US midterm elections today triggered a flight from BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) as FTSE 100 investors turned to banks and miners including Barclays (LSE:BARC) and Anglo American (LSE:AAL).

BAE’s reverse of 79.5p to 1,995.5p reflected uncertainty over what Democrat control of both houses of Congress will mean for military spending, in a country that last year accounted for 43% of the company’s £30.6 billion of sales.

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Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB)also dropped 27p to 1,020.5p, but the wider FTSE 100 index gained ground over the course of the session to stand 168 points, or 1.6% higher at 10,807.

The upturn versus the position early in the session mirrored a rebound for the S&P 500 index after Wall Street futures trading had initially been dominated by fears over the impact of the election result on the AI trade.

The turnaround was aided by a decline in the 10-year US Treasury yield as traders speculated that new tax cuts or major spending packages will become harder to pass.

Mining stocks played their part in the FTSE 100 acceleration after the US dollar weakened to help lift the price of gold by 3% to more than $4,000 an ounce and silver by 5% to $52 an ounce.

Mexico’s Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) added 124p to 2,410p and Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) rose by 178p to 3,735p, having fallen sharply from their peaks earlier this year of 4,448p and 5,290p respectively.

A recovery for copper after the price was initially dented by fears of a slowdown in data centre and AI expansion meant Anglo American also featured on the FTSE 100 risers board. Its shares jumped 115p to 3,832p, alongside gains for Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO) and Rio Tinto Ordinary Shares (LSE:RIO).

In the FTSE 250, Hochschild Mining (LSE:HOC) jumped 29p to 460p, Pan African Resources (LSE:PAF) rallied 5.8p to 109.4p and Atalaya Mining Copper SA (LSE:ATYM) added 40p to 864.5p.

Other beneficiaries of the decisive election result came from the banking sector as traders welcomed the reduced probability of additional deficit-financed stimulus.

Barclays rose 15.4p to 434.95p, Standard Chartered (LSE:STAN) by 90p to 2,143p and HSBC Holdings (LSE:HSBA) by 49.2p to 1,307.2p, while UK lenders NatWest Group (LSE:NWG) and Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) also rallied after recent weakness to stand 20.8p and 3p higher at 600.8p and 96.72p respectively.

Meanwhile, a more favourable outlook for European clean energy companies benefited Ceres Power Holdings (LSE:CWR) as its FTSE 250-listed shares jumped 27p to 300p.

On the FTSE 100 fallers board, stocks with significant US exposure came under pressure as traders weighed the increased likelihood of political gridlock in Washington DC.

Distribution firm Bunzl (LSE:BNZL) and the seals and controls business Diploma (LSE:DPLM), which generate about half their revenues in North America, sustained modest falls of 30p to 2,834p and 90p to 7,130p respectively.

AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) also eased 138p to 13,622p and London Stock Exchange Group (LSE:LSEG), which recently announced the $3.5 billion acquisition of New York-based credit intelligence firm Octus, dipped 100p to 9,354p.

The prospect that a Democrat-led Congress will result in regulation that limits the AI buildout contributed to a weaker session for Computacenter (LSE:CCC), which until yesterday had been this year’s best-performing stock in the FTSE 100 index.

Its shares dropped by another 87p to 4,958p, having been as high as 5,695p last month due to strong demand from hyperscale and neocloud customers in North America and the UK.

The biggest fallers in the FTSE 250 came from the defence sector, led by Avon Technologies (LSE:AVON) as the supplier of military helmet systems to the US Army fell by 85p to 2,420p. QinetiQ Group (LSE:QQ.) also weakened 17p to 532.5p and Chemring Group (LSE:CHG) by 15.5p to 544.5p.

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Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.

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