AI · Tech Breaking
Home Energy Energy-General By Alex Kimani - Nov 05, 2026, 7:00 PM CST 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.
Those bets faded on Thursday , with Eurasia Group cutting its odds of a negotiated agreement to 10% from 20% and putting the likelihood of renewed U.S. strikes at 60%, while Iran’s navy reported that a tanker struck a mine east of the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire. President Trump acknowledged the war’s role in the Republican losses but said the conflict has been worth it. Additionally, Democratic committee chairs are set to deploy their new subpoena powers from January to investigate the administration’s energy dealings.
Their targets include its Venezuelan oil concessions to North American Blue Energy Partners, critical mineral deals involving Cantor Fitzgerald, and the cancellation of nearly $8 billion in energy projects in states that voted for Kamala Harris. Separately, two of three Russian tankers carrying diesel to the U.S. under the Trump-Putin deal have abruptly changed course , one toward Brazil and the other into the Mediterranean. “It’s clear there’s hesitancy here in bringing these barrels onshore just because of the implications of doing so,” Kpler analyst Matt Smith said.
The Middle East physical oil market has also flipped into a surplus for the first time since July, as crude exports from Arab Gulf producers surged. Combined shipments from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait rose 10% to 15.53 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, nearing levels recorded at the start of the year. The numbers come from tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Saudi Arabia raised exports 13% to 7 million bpd, with shipments from Yanbu on the Red Sea up 35% to 3.07 million bpd. Iraq shipped 3.35 million bpd, up 9.5%, and Kuwait increased exports by a third to 1.44 million bpd. Tanker-tracking data showed no Iranian crude exports for a second month under the U.S. naval blockade.
Dubai crude for prompt delivery now trades below later-dated cargoes, a contango structure that means near-term supply exceeds demand. The OPEC Reference Basket, published with a one-day lag, fell 6.4% to $96.87 per barrel in Wednesday’s selloff. Renewable energy stocks gave up their gains after a brief spike on Wednesday on optimism about a pro-renewables Congress, with the sector’s benchmark, iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN), falling 2.4% to $16.20 on Thursday.
Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) tumbled 8.5% to $28.86 on Thursday; Array Technologies (NASDAQ:ARRY) fell 1.1% to $5.27 while First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) gained 1.6% to $197.56. Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN) climbed 13.3% to $9.96 on Thursday after its third-quarter numbers came in well above Wall Street’s expectations. The residential solar installer reported revenue of $1.10 billion, up 52% from a year earlier, against consensus estimates of $757.53 million.
GAAP diluted EPS was $0.56, against a consensus of $0.16. Net income attributable to common stockholders reached $153.2 million. Installations in its direct business rose 9%, and a record 75% of installations included battery storage.
About 32% of Sunrun’s float is sold short, leaving short sellers exposed to the earnings surprise. The stock also built on Wednesday’s sector gains following the midterm outcome, with investors anticipating that a Democratic-controlled Congress will help defend and stabilize the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits and clean-energy incentives. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com ADNOC Gas to Supply LNG to TotalEnergies Under Five-Year Deal Iran Reports More Tanker Fires in Strait of Hormuz India to Require State Utilities to Add Energy Storage Capacity Download The Free Oilprice App Today Back to homepage Alex Kimani Alex Kimani is a veteran finance writer, investor, engineer and researcher for Safehaven.com.
More Info Leave a comment EXXON Mobil -0.35 Open 57.81 Trading Vol. 6.96M Previous Vol. 241.7B BUY 57.15 Sell 57.00 "
