NEW YORK, May 19, 2026, 13:34 (EDT)
- U.S. markets traded as normal Tuesday. The next break for NYSE and Nasdaq is Memorial Day on May 25.
- Stocks dropped with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching its highest mark since January 2025, pressuring tech and other growth names.
- Large U.S. names with the most obvious new catalysts attracting buy interest included Nvidia, Dell Technologies, ServiceNow, and Home Depot.
Sellers grabbed control on Wall Street Tuesday, leaving fewer stocks on the day’s “buy” list. Picks leaned on timely themes: Nvidia’s earnings, Dell’s AI hardware push, ServiceNow’s software bounce, and Home Depot holding up better than expected.
Stocks are feeling the weight of rising bond yields. Higher yields are a headwind for growth stocks, cutting how much investors are willing to pay for future earnings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each posted their third decline in a row as traders waited for Federal Reserve minutes and Nvidia’s earnings later this week.
Nvidia stayed in focus. Options contracts were pricing in a move of about 6.5% in either direction after earnings, a swing that could mean $355 billion in market value, Reuters said. “I think investors have become complacent about AI/capex,” said Matt Amberson, founder of ORATS, pointing to capital expenditures like data centers and chips. Reuters
Nvidia isn’t a quiet bet right now. Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna, said options buyers are “increasingly paying for upside participation.” At the same time, he said, some investors are hedging gains in the most popular semiconductor stocks. Buying Nvidia today is less about value and more about whether data-center demand and margins can still top lofty market hopes. Reuters
Dell Technologies pitched its own angle on the AI spending theme. At Dell Technologies World, the company announced its AI Factory program with Nvidia covers workstations, servers, storage, and full rack-scale systems. Michael Dell was on stage saying, “Abundant intelligence is here.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also talked up demand, calling it “going parabolic” and highlighting more enterprise adoption of AI agents. Dell
Evercore bumped its Dell target to $270 from $240 and stuck with outperform. Bank of America now has a $280 target, keeping its buy rating, MarketBeat and Investors Business Daily reported. Nvidia dominates the competitive scene, but Dell is pushing its ties with Google, OpenAI, Palantir and ServiceNow as more companies move from pilot to production on AI.
ServiceNow got a fresh Wall Street nod as Bank of America’s Tal Liani restarted coverage at Buy with a $130 price target. Liani set an Underperform on Salesforce. The call put ServiceNow ahead in the AI conversation for the moment. “While AI is disrupting the software landscape, we think NOW stands to benefit from, rather than be replaced by, new AI solutions,” Liani said. Barron’s
Software shares have dropped this year as worries about AI hurting subscription models weighed on the sector, but investors now appear to be picking possible winners from the rest. “We continue to see some very attractive investments in software for those investors who can afford to be somewhat patient,” said Gregg Moskowitz, senior enterprise software analyst at Mizuho. Reuters
Home Depot came up as the day’s major non-AI name after reporting first-quarter results. The retailer topped expectations on both sales and profit for the quarter and stuck to its full-year outlook, saying some customers are waiting on bigger home projects. Comparable sales stayed weak, but contractor business in the Pro segment helped balance slow do-it-yourself spending.
Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said “Our customer seems to be in reasonably good shape,” but mentioned that uncertainty is still stopping bigger projects. Telsey Advisory Group’s Joseph Feldman said Home Depot is “taking share and executing well,” but said a full housing recovery is still not close. Lowe’s, Target and Walmart report this week, letting investors gauge the broader consumer. Reuters
But the risk is out there. If yields keep climbing, oil stays high or Nvidia’s results don’t back up the AI trade, even strong companies might get hit. Jeff Schulze, who runs economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments, called rising rates the “number one driver” for the latest selloff. He also pointed to 4.5% on the 10-year Treasury as a level that usually sparks worry. Reuters
The result is a short list: Nvidia for those who can handle swings in earnings, Dell if you want AI infrastructure, ServiceNow for software upside after new analyst backing, and Home Depot as a more defensive retail pick. Right now, every buy idea wants a reason to move. It also needs a clear stop-loss.
