Elections lead a busy market calendar
The November 3 midterms are among several major events facing markets this week. Investors also await October US employment data and interest-rate decisions in the UK, Australia, Norway and Sweden, Reuters reported.
Voters will choose all 435 voting members of the House of Representatives and fill 35 of the Senate's 100 seats, forming the 120th Congress. According to the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), Republicans hold majorities of 219-214 in the House and 53-47 in the Senate. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in each chamber. Forecasters favor a Democratic House, while the Senate race has become competitive.
A Democratic majority in either chamber would give the party control over committee agendas and legislative proceedings, as well as the ability to hold oversight hearings, the EPRS said. Control of the Senate would also allow Democrats to block nominations to key executive posts. President Trump would retain his veto power.
The EPRS noted that the president's party lost ground in House elections in 20 of the past 22 midterm cycles dating to 1938. Trump's approval rating was 39% in mid-September 2026.
Euro near a 17-month low after France outlook cut
In early Asian trading, the euro was near $1.1159, around its lowest level in 17 months. The currency had weakened after Fitch lowered France's outlook from "stable" to "negative" following Friday's market close.
Fitch kept France's rating at "A+" in the unscheduled, out-of-cycle review on October 30, BSS/AFP reported. The agency forecast that French debt would increase from nearly 115.7% of GDP in 2025 to 124% in 2028. It said the two-round presidential election in April-May 2027 left the prospects for debt reduction uncertain.
The revision followed Friday's release of INSEE figures showing that France's economy had recorded no growth so far in 2026 and had shrunk during the July-to-September quarter.
Binance restores withdrawals after record hack
Crypto markets were still absorbing the theft from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency trading venue. Bitcoin dropped more than 4% to $77,187.60 on Friday, October 30, as the hack weighed on trading, according to CNBC.
The security incident, announced on October 29, affected about $6.3 billion in client assets and was the largest crypto hack on record. Roughly $3 billion was frozen on-chain. Late on Saturday, October 31, the FBI said it had determined that North Korea was responsible.
Stablecoin issuers also acted to freeze funds linked to the incident. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said his company froze more than $800 million in USD Coin. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reported freezing more than $1.5 billion of his firm's stablecoin, while Ripple said it was freezing affected funds in its RLUSD stablecoin.
Binance said on Sunday, November 1, that withdrawals of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies had resumed. The exchange said it had covered up to 90% of the stolen assets using its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), part of its Futures insurance fund and its corporate treasury. It said the remaining 10% consisted of less liquid tokens outside its top 10.
