Daily Briefing · 2026-11-06

The U.S. labor market showed continued resilience, as employers added 165,000 jobs in October, beating forecasts and pushing unemployment down to 4.1 percent, according to NPR and the Financial Times. An economist told NPR that the midterm election results could meaningfully shape U.S. fiscal spending, taxation, and regulatory policy going forward. In Asia, tech shares extended their declines, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling below 60,000 for the first time since May and South Korea's Kospi dropping under 5,000, as investors weighed potential curbs on U.S. data-center expansion under a Democratic Congress. The Financial Times reported that deteriorating fundamentals in AI-linked stocks continue to raise concern about a possible valuation correction in the sector. MarketWatch reported that semiconductor stocks fell to their cheapest valuations in nearly seven years following the sharp selloff. Cloudflare shares staged a comeback after the company reported its fastest revenue growth in nearly four years, driven by rising demand for AI-powered security tools. Moderna raised its 2026 revenue growth guidance to as much as 25 percent, sending its stock higher. Goldman Sachs lowered its gold price target, citing the Federal Reserve's hawkish policy stance as a drag on the metal's near-term appeal. NPR reported that gold prices fell from nearly 5,600 dollars in January to below 4,000 dollars this week, a decline some analysts linked to easing market uncertainty. The Financial Times reported that Silicon Valley's alliance with Trump contributed to midterm electoral losses, prompting tech executives to reassess their political strategy. The Financial Times also reported that Iran welcomed Trump's election setback and signaled renewed mediation efforts toward a U.S.-Iran deal, with potential implications for frozen Iranian assets and Middle East oil markets. Tesla will reduce Cybertruck production at its Texas facility starting in 2027, according to MarketWatch.