New York, May 19, 2026, 20:01 (EDT)
ETFs tracking U.S. stocks held in the red late Tuesday after the major indexes posted their third loss in a row. Treasury yields moved higher and market focus stayed on Nvidia’s earnings, which investors see as a big test for the AI rally. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF traded at $733.73, down about 0.7%. Invesco QQQ was at $701.53 and the SPDR Dow ETF at $493.98, both off around 0.6% from the previous close.
Bonds are back in focus as a fresh jump in yields threatens the rally that pushed major indexes to new highs. Rising Treasury yields often weigh on growth stocks, since higher yields make future earnings from those companies less appealing to investors than they were before.
Stocks ended lower Monday, with the Dow down 322.24 points, or 0.65%, at 49,363.88. The S&P 500 gave up 49.44 points, or 0.67%, to finish at 7,353.61. The Nasdaq lost 220.02 points, or 0.84%, closing at 25,870.71. That made it three declines in a row for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
10-year Treasury yields hit 4.687%, their highest since January 2025, before slipping to about 4.66%. The move came as investors looked at inflation concerns from higher oil prices and no clear U.S.-Iran peace deal. “Equities having a tough time,” Rosenblatt Securities managing director and equity sales trader Michael James said, pointing to oil, the bond move and ongoing war news as drivers. Reuters
Tech and communication-services shares pulled markets lower. Reuters said six out of 11 major S&P 500 sectors dropped, with materials sliding almost 2.3%. Healthcare gained 1.1%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed nearly unchanged after being down over 3% earlier. Traders didn’t dump semis but stopped buying heavily, according to Reuters.
Nvidia led the after-hours session, last at $220.61, down 0.7%. Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom dropped too, losing about 1.6% and 2.3%. Options are pricing in a Nvidia move of around 6.5% after earnings on Wednesday, which could mean a swing of $355 billion in market cap. Matt Amberson from ORATS said investors have grown “complacent about AI/capex.” Reuters
Options traders are “willing to chase upside in Nvidia,” but some are also “hedge or monetize gains” in popular chip stocks, Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna, said. That split is clear for the market: Nvidia might keep boosting the tape after a strong run for AI stocks, but it gets tougher now. Reuters
Home Depot climbed to $302.44, giving the Dow a lift as the company posted first-quarter sales of $41.8 billion, up 4.8% from last year, with adjusted earnings coming in at $3.43 per share. CEO Ted Decker said the quarter was “in line with our expectations,” but mentioned “greater consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure.” He pointed to higher rates weighing on both the housing market and consumers. Home Depot Investor Relations
Akamai Technologies was the biggest single-stock drop on the day, sliding 6.3% to $141.34. The cloud and cybersecurity name said it will offer $2.6 billion in zero-coupon convertible senior notes. These notes can convert to equity. Akamai said money from the deal will help it ramp up its Cloud Infrastructure Services unit and for corporate uses.
Fed talk moved back into focus. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said policy “is in a good place now,” but told markets it makes sense to think about rates staying where they are longer, or even the chance for “further tightening.” Traders started upping bets on a December rate hike—Reuters said odds for a quarter-point move hit 41.7%. Reuters
Bears have to watch if oil falls, yields cool, or Nvidia offers a forecast that brings buyers back into megacap tech, since that could take off some of the pressure. Bulls could get hit harder. Fed minutes coming Wednesday might back up the market’s worries about higher rates, and a new jump in energy could keep inflation in the headlines.
Market action is cautious. Volume reached 19.45 billion shares on U.S. exchanges, above the 20-session average. Decliners beat advancers by 2.66-to-1 on the NYSE. Traders are waiting for Wednesday’s Fed minutes and Nvidia’s earnings after the bell, more than focusing on how stocks closed Tuesday.
