US Equity Indexes Fall as 30-Year Treasury Yield Surges to Highest in Almost Two Decades

01:28 PM EDT, 05/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell in midday trading on Tuesday after the 30-year Treasury yield traded at its highest level in just under two decades and as the Iran standoff continued.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 26,025.7, with the S&P 500 down 0.2% to 7,390.5 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 0.2% to 49,579.2.

The 30-year rate rose 2.2 basis points to 5.17%, the strongest level since 2007.

President Donald Trump threatened to resume strikes on Iran in the coming days as part of the push for a deal to end the war, after he said he had just called off a US attack, Bloomberg reported.

"I hope we don't have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. When asked how long he would wait, he said: "Well, I mean, I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Something maybe early next week - a limited period of time."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.1% to $108.80, while Brent crude futures fell 1% to $111.03.

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