Oil Rebounds Toward $100 as Democrats' Sweep Rattles Energy Stocks

OilPrice.com · Alex Kimani · 2026-11-06 01:00 UTC

Oil prices rebounded 4% as Iran war risks resurfaced after the U.S. midterms, while AI stocks plunged and energy markets faced fresh uncertainty.

Oil prices reversed their recent downtrend on Thursday, a day after Democrats swept control of both the House and Senate, creating a potential legislative check on U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Brent crude was up 4.0% to trade at $98.38 per barrel at 3:15 pm ET, while WTI gained 2.9% to $90.65, with prices rising for the first time in four sessions after plunging to a near two-month low on Wednesday. U.S. natural gas prices were flat at $2.95/MMBtu, while European gas prices rebounded 1.9% to €89.72/MWh. The U.S. stock market resumed its recent downtrend on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down more than 3% and the Nasdaq off about 5% in afternoon trading as a selloff in AI chip stocks deepened. AI stocks tied to Texas data centers were hit hard after Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated long-serving Texas governor Greg Abbott, with CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) falling 7% and Nebius Group (NASDAQ:NBIS) and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) each sliding 4% in overnight trading on Wednesday. Hinojosa has called for a pause on new data-center projects until protections for electricity supplies, water resources and local communities are in place, with investors fearing similar roadblocks could slow down the AI data center boom once Democratic governors take office in January 2027.

The energy investment universe was a mixed bag, with the oil and gas benchmark, State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE), falling 1.6% to $62.50 on Thursday, as energy stocks tracked the broader market lower despite the rebound in crude. Wednesday’s 8.7% plunge in Brent priced in bets that the election setback would force the Trump administration to pursue a peace deal with Iran and reopen Hormuz.

Related: European Gas Prices Drop on Iran Deal Hopes after U.S. Midterms

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