NEW YORK, May 18, 2026, 11:03 ET
Stocks were mixed in late morning trade Monday. The Dow rose, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower. Treasury yields pulled back, but that wasn’t enough to offset all of the pressure from last week’s rout tied to the bond market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.22% to 49,637.04, according to LSEG figures on Reuters. The S&P 500 slipped 0.15% to 7,397.32 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.44% to 26,110.02. The readings reflect data delayed by at least 15 minutes.
Bonds are back in focus. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.573% after earlier hitting 4.631%, a level not seen since February 2025. That yield is key for government borrowing and shapes costs on mortgages and other loans. Brent crude fell almost 2% on word Washington may offer a temporary waiver on Iranian oil sanctions.
“Yields are key to all of this,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. Higher yields put pressure on growth stocks, as investors knock down the value of future earnings when bonds offer higher payouts.
The artificial-intelligence trade has powered much of this year’s market gains. Nvidia is set to report earnings on Wednesday, after climbing 36% from its March low. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index is up over 60% this year as traders chase demand for AI chips. Reuters’ week-ahead look flagged upcoming reports from Walmart, Home Depot, Target and TJX, bringing the consumer story back to the front.
Stocks came under pressure Friday, with the Dow down 1.07%, the S&P 500 off 1.24%, and the Nasdaq weaker by 1.54%. Both crude prices and Treasury yields were higher. Kenny Polcari, chief market strategist at Slatestone Wealth, said the market had “gotten way ahead of itself” after traders rushed into the AI story. Reuters
Dominion Energy shares rallied after NextEra Energy said it would acquire the company in an all-stock deal worth about $66.8 billion. NextEra is looking to tap into growing power needs from data centers. Other utilities have made moves recently too. AES is set to sell itself to a group led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT, while Constellation Energy announced a deal to acquire Calpine.
NextEra CEO John Ketchum said the merger should let the company “buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently.” Dominion covers Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” an area with one of the biggest groups of data centers in the world.
Regeneron dropped in healthcare trading. The stock came under pressure after its experimental melanoma combo treatment failed to hit the primary endpoint in a late-stage study. The trial tracked how long melanoma patients went without their disease getting worse. BMO Capital Markets’ Evan Seigerman said “back-to-back key pipeline misses” had put more focus on Regeneron’s outlook over the next year to year and a half. Reuters
Bond yields eased Monday, but that may not last. Reuters’ Morning Bid noted the 30-year Treasury yield hit 5.159%, levels not seen since before 2007, with worries over oil, inflation and government debt shaking the bond market. If yields start rising again, tech stocks with high valuations could see more selling, regardless of how Nvidia reports.
Right now, markets are stuck between bets on AI and nerves about rates. AI hopes are still drawing cash to chips, power demand and the big tech names. Rate worries keep raising the question of how much those future profits matter as bond yields rise.
