Hour in Review — 2026-11-03 07:00 UTC 30 sources
Three threads ran through the hour. First, the tech selloff spread across asset classes while Wall Street leaders publicly defended AI spending. Asian equities slid as the US chip-sector selloff deepened, and the yuan weakened 1. Taiwan's benchmark closed down 3.83% 2. Bitcoin fell below $77,000 as tech-stock selloffs spread into crypto ahead of the US midterms 3, touching $76,455 as spot ETFs bled money 4. China's stock rout also resumed after its revived 2024 support tools met skepticism 5. Against that backdrop, Goldman's David Solomon, Franklin Templeton's Jenny Johnson and Morgan Stanley's Ted Pick broadly rejected bubble concerns 6,7, and Pershing Square said investors are penalizing hyperscalers for build-out costs 8. A more cautious note came from Blackstone's Jon Gray, who argued that funding the AI buildout will require more equity because concentrated exposure is raising risk for debt holders 9. Separately, Nvidia reportedly told data-center clients to trim their China business 10,11, and Microsoft is raising $25 billion in bonds at rates up to 6.35% 12. Second, the Iran war is driving energy economics even as diplomacy stirs. The US struck Iran's Qeshm Island, and the IRGC claimed it downed two more US MQM-170 drones 13; oil rose on reports of the strike 14. At the same time, Trump said Tehran wants a settlement quickly and that a deal could happen 15, and a deal framework is reportedly taking shape after talks in Tehran 16. The IEA said the war has put global LNG output on track for its steepest annual decline on record 17. Aramco's profit rose 9%, helped by oil prices the war pushed higher 18, and Brown University research puts extra US spending on gas and diesel since the war began at over $150 billion 19. Third, monetary tightening continues: the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its cash rate to 4.85%, an 18-year high and its fifth hike this year 20,21, while a Bank of England hike on Thursday is seen as nearly certain as UK inflation nears 4% 22. Central-bank gold buying in the third quarter was the fastest since late 2024 23. In Ukraine, Russian strikes on Komyshuvakha killed 29, with 48 missing 24; a strike in Kharkiv injured 73 and hit a hospital 25; and an attack on energy facilities cut power to over 180,000 subscribers in Zhytomyr region 26,27. US envoy Steve Witkoff announced US-mediated Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi on 10-11 November 28. Meanwhile, Americans are voting in midterms widely seen as a referendum on Trump, with Democrats projected to retake the House 29,30.
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