New York, May 18, 2026, 06:12 EDT
- U.S. stocks were set to trade on a normal schedule Monday. The NYSE and Nasdaq holiday calendars say the next 2026 closure is Memorial Day, May 25.
- S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures edged lower while oil prices and Treasury yields moved higher. Investors are looking to Nvidia earnings and retailer results up next, which could put the latest rally to the test.
- Nvidia traded at $225.32 before the bell, with Microsoft at $421.92 and Walmart at $131.45. SPY, QQQ and DIA, all tracking big U.S. indexes, were down.
Stocks futures dropped Monday with crude staying close to $110 and Treasury yields moving higher, putting pressure on traders to look at “top stocks to buy today” more carefully. The focus is now on which companies can still produce demand as borrowing and energy get pricier.
That’s why traders kept their focus on Nvidia, Microsoft and Walmart. Nvidia remains the key AI trade. Microsoft has picked up a new big-name backer. Walmart is set to show if rising fuel prices are cutting into consumer spending.
Stocks were set to open at 9:30 a.m. in New York. Before the bell, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF traded at $739.17. The Invesco QQQ Trust was at $708.93 and the Dow-linked DIA fund was showing $495.37 in premarket action.
Nvidia was in focus early. Shares of the chipmaker, a key supplier for AI hardware, dropped $10.44 premarket to $225.32. Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom also slipped. Wall Street is looking for Nvidia to post sales near $78.5 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.75 to $1.78 on Wednesday, according to Reuters’ Morning Bid.
Allen Bond, portfolio manager at Jensen Investment Management, told Reuters investors want to see “evidence that justifies the increase in the stock price” for Nvidia. Yung-Yu Ma at PNC Financial Services Group said the question now is if Nvidia can hold on to its lead in AI chips as rivals move in. Reuters
Microsoft climbed $12.50 in premarket trading, last at $421.92. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square took a new stake after shares slipped, calling the valuation “highly compelling.” Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the move fit his view Microsoft still has “scope to re-rate.” Reuters
Microsoft’s story isn’t a fast trade, but about staying power. Ackman said Azure, the company’s cloud arm, and the Microsoft 365 office suite are key business units for corporate AI adoption.
Walmart traded down $1.02 to $131.45 before the bell ahead of its quarterly earnings on Thursday. Target, which also reports this week, slipped to $121.54. Retail stayed weak with both stocks falling as markets look to see if gas prices now above $4.50 a gallon are affecting spending.
“At some point, these costs are going to catch up with consumers,” Ma said to Reuters. The big question for retail earnings, Ma said, is “how resilient is the consumer?” Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy.
AI stocks are still drawing buyers. Shawn Tuteja, who runs ETF and custom baskets volatility trading at Goldman Sachs, said investors are returning to hyperscalers and AI, seeing their demand as more “inelastic”—so customers might not reduce spending on it much, even if the economy stalls. But Tuteja cautioned that the trade could have “two-way volatility.” Business Insider
Markets are leaning on a narrow set of buys, but that could hurt the wider market. If oil runs higher, inflation could accelerate. Higher Treasury yields might take money out of stocks. Weak results from Walmart or Target would put into question whether consumers can still absorb rising prices. George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars, said markets were “panicking” about the risk the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed. Reuters
Right now, the “best stocks to buy today” lists aren’t really about bargains. It’s more about which companies can hold their prices. Nvidia is on the hook to keep its AI premium. Microsoft needs to show that betting on big software cash is safe. Walmart still has to show U.S. consumers aren’t folding.
