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Your Daily Market Brief
May 18, 2026
 
   
  Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities  
 
 
On Friday, major U.S. stock index retreated more than 1%, with the S&P 500 falling 92 points (-1.24%) to 7,408, and the Nasdaq 100 down 455 points (-1.54%) to 29,125.

The Dow Jones declined 537 points (-1.07%) to 49,526.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield surged 11.4 basis points to 4.597%, the highest level in one year. Investors started to worry that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates amid increasing inflation pressure.

Technology stocks were broadly lower at close, with Tesla (TSLA) losing 4.75%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) down 5.69%, Intel (INTC) down 6.18%, and Micron (MU) down 6.62%.

Nvidia (NVDA) lost 4.42%. The semiconductor giant will report quarterly results in after-market hours on Wednesday (May 20).

Microsoft (MSFT) rose 3.05%, while Alphabet (GOOGL) dropped 1.07%.

Bill Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square loaded up Microsoft shares while exiting its position in Alphabet entirely.

Meanwhile, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) increased its stake in Alphabet while selling out Visa (V), Mastercard (MA) and UnitedHealth (UNH).

Boeing (BA) sank a further 3.80% after losing over 4% in the prior session. U.S. President Donald Trump said China has agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets, but investors thought that the order was not big enough.

Figma (FIG), a collaborative web-based design platform, jumped 13.24% on better-than-expected quarterly results.

European stocks closed sharply lower, with the DAX 40 sliding 2.07%, the CAC 40 down 1.60%, and the FTSE 100 down 1.71%.

In early Asian trading hours on Monday, U.S. WTI crude futures for July delivery traded higher to 102.23 dollars a barrel, while gold remained subdued at 4,548 dollars an ounce after sliding over 2% Friday.
 
 
  Market Wrap: Forex  
 
 
In early Asian trading hours on Monday, the U.S. dollar remained very firm, boosted by surging Treasury yields. The dollar index held up at 99.28.

U.S. industrial production grew 0.7% month on month in April (vs +0.1% expected, -0.3% in March).

Also, the New York State manufacturing index rose to 19.6 in May, higher than expected.

EUR/USD eased further to 1.1622. The forex pair closed lower every day last week.

USD/JPY remained elevated at 158.79.

GBP/USD was lower at 1.3317.

AUD/USD traded at 0.7151 after falling over 1% on Friday.

USD/CHF was stable at 0.7868, and USD/CAD advanced to 1.3751.

Bitcoin crossed below the level of 78,000 dollars.
 
 
  Morning Trading  
 
 
In Asian trading hours, EUR/USD and GBP/USD both remained subdued, at 1.1615 and 1.3310 respectively.

Data showed that China's industrial production rose 4.1% year-on-year in April, below 5.5% expected, and retail sales grew 0.2%, below 2.2% estimated.

Meanwhile, USD/JPY climbed to 158.90.

Gold stayed under pressure at a 2-week low of 4,529 dollars.

Bitcoin slipped to 77,104 dollars.
 
 
  Expected Today  
 
 
In the U.S., the NAHB housing market index is expected to climb to 35 in May.
 
 
 
 
Web TV from Trading Central
 
 
 
USD/JPY Intraday: Upside Prevails
 
On an intraday basis, USD/JPY maintains its bullish trend above the key support at 158.50.
 
WATCH NOW
 
 
     
 
 

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