New York, May 18, 2026, 16:02 EDT
- The Dow edged down 0.01%, the S&P 500 fell 0.29%. Tech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, which closed off 0.65%.
- Oil gained, while the 10-year Treasury yield held close to its recent peak.
- Nvidia reports results Wednesday, with Walmart on deck later in the week. Both are set to test top investor themes: AI spending and the strength of the U.S. consumer.
U.S. stocks slipped Monday, the Nasdaq falling the most. Chipmakers and tech shares lost steam, and oil and bonds kept inflation concerns in focus.
Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 4.47 points, or 0.01%, at 49,521.70. S&P 500 slipped 21.33 points, or 0.29%, to 7,387.17. Nasdaq Composite fell 171.47 points, or 0.65%, to 26,053.68.
Stocks have rallied lately mostly on gains in artificial intelligence names, but higher energy prices could keep inflation firm. Yields going up is a drag for stocks, raising borrowing costs and cutting the present value of expected profits.
Oil was volatile as traders tracked the Iran war and risk of supply cuts. The S&P 500 was on pace for its second daily loss after last week’s record, AP reported. Brent crude traded between $112 and $107, later moving up.
Tech lagged. The S&P 500 technology sector dropped 1.4% as the market looked ahead to Nvidia earnings this week. Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, pointed to questions about Taiwan after President Donald Trump’s China visit as a reason for chip stock selling. “Given Taiwan’s significance to the chip market,” investors also wanted to take some profits, he said. Reuters
Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, said the move looked like some profit-taking after a fast rally. “There’s concern about the rally we’ve had in a short period of time,” he said. Reuters
Nvidia, now the world’s most valuable company, reports Wednesday. Walmart numbers are due this week as well, which could show if higher energy prices and inflation are cutting into household spending.
NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy are merging in an all-stock deal valued at $66.8 billion, the companies said, aiming to build a major electric utility as power demand grows from AI data centers. “The country needs energy infrastructure built faster, more efficiently, and more affordably,” NextEra CEO John Ketchum said. Dominion shares rallied 10%. NextEra dropped 5%. Deal news gave the tape some support outside tech. Reuters
Regeneron slipped in healthcare after its melanoma drug failed to meet the main target in a late-stage study. The drug was up against Merck’s Keytruda. Regeneron still has a separate head-to-head against Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdualag underway. BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said “back-to-back key pipeline misses” up the stakes for Regeneron’s next year to year and a half of R&D. Reuters
UnitedHealth pulled down the Dow after Berkshire Hathaway said it dumped its shares in the insurer. Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust, said any Berkshire trade can hit a stock, “whether it was Warren Buffett behind the change or not.” Reuters
Market risk is that this turns out to be just a limited selloff, instead of a bigger move down. A strong report from Nvidia or a decline in oil prices could bring buyers back to large-cap tech. But if oil keeps heading higher, yields don’t come down and retailer results point to weaker consumers, the AI-driven rally could hit a tougher patch than Monday’s small index drops signal.
