Live: US midterms in sharp focus, oil price eases

Futures point to a modestly lower open for the Australian share market as the US midterms come into sharp focus.Investors on Wall Street moved back into big tech stocks, but the NASDAQ remains in correction territory.Oil prices eased again, as did the Australian dollar. Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.Wed 4 Nov 2026 at 7:09amWed 4 Nov 2026 at 7:09am'Less than a week's cover for essentials': surveyAMP has just published the results of a household budget survey.The investment firms says it shows "just how thin the financial buffer is for many Australian households, particularly following the RBA’s rate rise."Key findings include:Everyday bills and expenses are cited as the biggest financial concern for 32%.One in six (17%) say they could cover essential expenses for less than a week if their income suddenly stopped.More than a third (37%) say they have less than a month’s cover.36% say they’re financially worse off than 12 months ago.27% describe themselves as financially “treading water”, while 12% say they’re “falling behind”.One in three (33%) single parents say they have less than a week’s cover.Everyday bills and expenses are cited as the biggest financial concern for 32%."Another rate rise means households already stretched may need to find more money in budgets with very little give," AMP Bank Group Executive Sean O’Malley said."Some will cut discretionary spending further, draw on savings or mortgage prepayments, while those under greater pressure may need to speak to their bank about repayment arrangements."The important thing is not to wait until you’re in serious financial difficulty before looking at your options."Wed 4 Nov 2026 at 7:04amWed 4 Nov 2026 at 7:04amInvestors move back into tech as fears easeThe Nasdaq rallied overnight as AI heavyweights rebounded ahead of US midterm election results.Apple fell after the iPhone ​maker joined the list of Big Tech companies whose quarterly results failed to impress investors.Wall Street's fear index, the VIX, fell 2% overnight as investors shed some nerves about both the AI trade and the oil price.But investors are getting nervous about market resiliency. US President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies and the Iran war's energy shock ‌have revived inflation worldwide, putting pressure on central banks to raise interest rates. That, along with AI's capital-investment surge and highly indebted governments, is driving up borrowing costs to multidecade highs.With US midterms volatile geopolitics and central bank policy promising further uncertainty in the final stretch of the year, some investors and economists say risks to the global economy are mounting."Rising rates always seem to sniff out and expose the most vulnerable time after time," former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill said."Countries and businesses too exposed suffer the most."Reporting with ReutersWed 4 Nov 2026 at 6:50amWed 4 Nov 2026 at 6:50amWelcome to the ABC business blogGood morning and welcome to the ABC's business blog.Wall Street's fear index, the VIX, shed 2 per cent overnight as some confidence re-emerged in the market.A falling oil price seems to be helping on that front.In terms of stocks, there looks to have been some rotation out of industrial stocks and into the big tech names.Apple was the exception there, falling almost 2% after disappointing iPad sales results in the fiscal fourth-quarter missed the Street’s estimates.Let's get going and look to US equities, the midterms, oil price and the ASX open of trade.