Nasdaq, S&P 500 Retreat From Record Highs as Yields Surge Amid Inflation Woes

05:02 PM EDT, 05/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 fell from record highs as inflation concerns pushed Treasury yields higher.

The Nasdaq tumbled 1.5% to 26,225.1, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 7,408.5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.1% to 49,526.2. Barring energy, all sectors ended in the red, led by materials' 2.7% slump.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.1% this week, marking its seventh consecutive weekly advance. The Nasdaq logged a weekly loss of 0.1% after a streak of six weekly gains. The Dow recorded a weekly loss of 0.2%.

US Treasury yields surged, with the 10-year rate last up 14 basis points at 4.60% and the two-year rate rising 8.7 basis points to 4.08%.

The headline consumer price index is expected to average 6% in the second quarter, according to a poll of economists by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. That's well above the 2.7% rate pegged in the previous survey, which was published in March.

Earlier this week, official data showed that consumer inflation accelerated to 3.8% year over year in April, the highest print since May 2023. Energy prices rose nearly 18%, the highest since September 2022.

West Texas Intermediate crude was last up 4.7% at $105.89 a barrel, while Brent climbed 3.6% to $109.57.

Talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, this week failed to improve the prospects of a US-Iran peace deal.

RBC Capital Markets sees no imminent diplomatic breakthrough.

"There seems to be an emerging consensus that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen in June because the cost of continued closure will be too high," RBC said in a note emailed Friday. "We are very skeptical of a June grand reopening."

In economic news, US industrial production rebounded more than projected in April, buoyed by the manufacturing and utilities categories, Federal Reserve data showed.

"Besides supportive fiscal policy, the (artificial intelligence) buildout will continue to lift production of computers and electronics, while an inventory restocking cycle will support new orders growth for factories," Oxford Economics said in a note.

New York manufacturing activity grew at the fastest pace in more than four years this month amid robust new orders, the New York Fed reported.

Gold was last down 3.1% at $4,540.30 per troy ounce, while silver slid nearly 11% to $76.21 per ounce.

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