European Markets Rally as Democrats Sweep US Midterms; Musk Companies Plunge

European markets rallied Wednesday after Democrats swept the US midterm elections, with Milan's FTSE Mib index surging 2.3% on banking gains, while Elon Musk's companies plunged in pre-market trading. Tesla fell 4.4% and SpaceX dropped 6.2% as Democratic victories in Texas threaten Musk's AI data center project and a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger. Milan's banking sector led gains, with Intesa Sanpaolo rising 5.08% after strong quarterly results, while defense stocks like Avio fell 3.3%. Asian markets were weak, with Tokyo down 1.5%, while gold rose 2.6% to $4,007 per ounce and Bitcoin fell below $78,000. BMW reported a 24.4% net profit decline for nine months, and Iveco posted a third-quarter loss of €45 million.