Stock markets shaky ahead of U.S. midterm election as Apple faces pressure

North American stock markets are drifting in mixed trading on Tuesday morning, with Apple dropping sharply in early trading ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. Some on Wall Street worry that a Democratic sweep of Congress this time around could lead to more regulations and restrictions on AI development. But Donald Trump would still be president and have the power to veto. And Wall Street generally prefers split control of Washington, which it sees as offering less risk of transformative policies that could reshape the economy.Tuesday’s midterm elections may also be keeping financial markets unsteady, but history suggests that they may not matter much for the broad market. Going back to 1970, the S&P 500 has had a positive return in the six months following a midterm election every time, according to Brock Weimer, an analyst at Edward Jones.The S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent in early trading, even though more stocks fell within the index than rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 232 points, or 0.4 per cent, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5 per cent higher. Story continues below advertisement On Bay Street, the TSX was down about 0.75 pe...