Catenaa, Tuesday, May 19, 2026- US stock indexes fell on Tuesday as 30-year bond yields rose to their highest after 2007, while oil prices eased after President Trump said he had paused a planned attack on Iran.
Trump said on Monday he had halted a planned resumption of attacks against Iran to allow time for negotiations to take place on a deal to end the war, after Tehran sent a new peace proposal to Washington.
He subsequently said there was a “very good chance” the US could reach an agreement with Iran to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Yields on US Treasuries moved higher. The 10-year yield climbed as high as 4.659% on Monday, its highest level in 15 months.
The Nasdaq led declines on Wall Street. The all-important artificial intelligence trade will be tested by earnings from chipmaker Nvidia that are due on Wednesday, with expectations sky-high for the world’s most valuable company.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 170.38 points, or 0.34%, to 49,515.42, the S&P 500 fell 47.16 points, or 0.63%, to 7,356.14, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 255.26 points, or 0.98%, to 25,835.47.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 6.07 points, or 0.55%, to 1,092.16.
European stocks were higher, however, further recovering ground lost on Friday when they dropped 1.5% as bond market jitters spread to equities.
Stocks in Europe, which is a net importer of energy and has fewer major tech firms, remain below pre-war levels and have lagged far behind their US peers.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3%.
US crude fell 0.52% to $108.09 a barrel, and Brent fell to $110.26 per barrel, down 1.64% on the day.
US Treasury yields rose as worries remain about a lasting inflationary shock from the Iran war.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose 4.6 basis points to 4.669%, from 4.623% late on Monday. Yields move inversely to prices.
British bond yields fell after news reports said the most likely challenger to Prime Minister Keir Starmer will not overhaul the country’s borrowing rules.
The US dollar was up in part because of higher US yields, driven by inflation fears and uncertainty over how new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will respond if price pressures continue to accelerate.
Markets are now pricing in rate hikes from major central banks this year on expectations policymakers will have to tighten policy to combat a resurgence in inflation driven by higher-for-longer energy prices.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.4% to 99.39, with the euro down 0.51% at $1.1595.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.14% to 159.06.
Data on Tuesday showed that Japan’s economy grew by an annualised 2.1% in the first quarter, supporting expectations for a Bank of Japan rate increase in June.
Investors are also awaiting details of the government’s supplementary budget plan, which could further strain Japan’s already deteriorating public finances and weigh on the yen.
