🇪🇬Week of November 2

A sharp selloff hit Wall Street after the US midterm elections, with technology and AI-related shares taking heavy losses. Monte Carlo International described a "bloodbath" and the evaporation of $2 trillion in market value. The S&P 500 recorded its worst performance since April 2025, according to Shorouk Gateway's account carried in the press review.12

The Nasdaq suffered its largest loss in 19 months as fears over AI regulation weighed on chip stocks, Al Arabiya reported. CNN Arabic described a severe selling wave shaking Wall Street, with AI shares absorbing large losses. Mubasher's headline called it the worst since 2020, saying AI erased trillions of dollars from the markets.345

Al Arabiya reported that the "Magnificent Seven" lost $1 trillion in a single day and asked whether the AI bubble had burst. The BBC tied the tech decline to fears that the pace of AI development could slow.67

Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced fires broke out on two oil tankers and a sea tug while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, in two separate incidents. The Guard said one of the incidents resulted from a collision with a mine.123

South Korea plans to expand its naval unit's mission near the strait by deploying a patrol aircraft and an explosives-removal team. Its defence ministry said the mission is meant to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and Seoul said the unit's task will be limited to protecting navigation and will not include intervention in the war.145

Attributed claim: Accounts differ on what was hit. The BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN Arabic and DW.com report fires on two tankers and a tug, while DW.com's headline describes fires on three ships transiting the strait.1236

Shorouk Gateway reported that the Revolutionary Guard seized two American drones in Hormuz.7

Egypt's cabinet is preparing a plan to raise the minimum wage and will announce it before the end of November, following directives from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has instructed the Finance Ministry to publish the executive plan quickly.123

President Donald Trump announced a halt to US military assistance to Israel worth $4 billion, a step Al Jazeera framed as intended to cut the ground from under Abdoul Sayed. The announcement was followed by Israeli opposition figure Benny Eisenkot calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down.12

Monte Carlo International reported that Trump and Netanyahu agreed to stop military financing for Israel, presenting the decision as a joint understanding between the two leaders. Other accounts centered on Trump's unilateral announcement and its domestic Israeli fallout.3

CNN Arabic described the aid cut as a historic shift in American policy toward Israel, while asking what role Abdel Rahman El-Sayed played in the announcement. The outlet's framing treats the decision as a break with past US practice rather than a routine budget step.45

Oil prices fell after Trump's remarks on ending assistance to Israel, according to Mubasher. The outlet tied the decline directly to the announcement.6

Trump also said that if Americans tire of him he would move to Israel and become its prime minister, according to Youm7. The remark came in the same round of statements on the aid decision.7

Egypt's foreign minister held phone calls with his Iranian, Kuwaiti and Saudi counterparts to discuss stopping escalation and the latest regional developments. In the call with his Iranian counterpart, he stressed that all parties must show flexibility to find a political solution to the crisis.123

The Kuwaiti call covered moves under way to prevent the region from sliding into a military confrontation, and the Saudi call covered regional developments and efforts to lower the escalation. Cairo's stated aim in the round of contacts was to head off military escalation.456

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry confirmed the call with the Kuwaiti foreign minister on regional developments. A later account said the talks with the Iranian side covered efforts to end the escalation and reach a sustainable ceasefire.78

The foreign minister also discussed regional developments by phone with a senior adviser to the US president, extending the contacts beyond the region.9

Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, began consultations on forming the next government, opening the process with the smaller blocs rather than the largest parties, a break with usual practice. The talks follow Knesset elections in which no bloc emerged with a majority, leaving coalition arithmetic unresolved.123

Opposition parties agreed to nominate Benny Eisenkot to form the next government, while Benjamin Netanyahu insisted he would remain prime minister and called for a broad government under his leadership. Netanyahu attacked the Arab parties, and Egyptian pro-government outlet Youm7 reported that he lost the Knesset majority and accused the Arab parties of "stealing the election."4567

Monte Carlo International raised the question of whether Arab parties would back a government that removes Netanyahu without joining it themselves, a calculation that turns on how those seats are used. The outlet also examined which parties won the votes of the Druze community.8

The consultations were set to begin the following day, according to Al-Khaleej, which described the political scene as sharply divided. Al-Ghad published a timeline for the government-formation process.92

Oil prices closed down more than 7 percent as traders weighed hopes of a geopolitical breakthrough between Washington and Tehran. Brent crude traded at $106.58 a barrel, while other quotes put a barrel at $110.6 and US crude at $100.70.123

The drop followed signals that President Donald Trump was favoring diplomacy with Iran ahead of the US midterm elections, with markets awaiting his decision on whether to resume strikes on Iran after the vote. Crude futures had risen during the Asian session before the slide.456

Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecasts, citing risks of supply disruption, with one projection putting prices at $88 a barrel in 2027. The bank's outlook ran against the day's selloff.76

Saudi Aramco said it expects demand growth in 2027, with refining margins offsetting lower profits from exploration and production in the third quarter of 2026. Saudi National Bank also reported its financial and operating performance at the end of the third quarter.89

Salamah confirmed it holds no new information that would affect its share price.10