Equity Markets Fall Intraday as Traders Monitor Middle East Developments

02:17 PM EDT, 05/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower and Treasury yields jumped after midday Tuesday as traders continued to monitor developments in the Middle East.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.4% at 25,989.8 intraday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 7,385. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2% to 49,578.5. Among sectors, materials saw the biggest drop, while healthcare paced the gainers.

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate up 8.2 basis points at 4.67% and the two-year rate rising 7.8 basis points to 4.14%.

In a social media post on Monday, President Donald Trump said the US postponed a planned military strike on Iran amid "serious" ongoing negotiations. Trump, however, cautioned that the US will proceed with a large-scale attack if a deal is not reached.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that the US may need to strike Iran again, Reuters reported.

West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.1% at $108.61 per barrel intraday Tuesday, while Brent fell 1.1% to $110.86.

"Oil prices are gyrating between yesterday's increase after tough talk from Trump over the weekend and today's slight pullback after Trump said he held off on launching additional attacks on Iran following appeals from Gulf states," Scotiabank said in a note.

Washington and Tehran have had a series of talks, but are yet to finalize a framework on a peace deal.

"The net effect is that oil prices have been higher since Friday and this reflects the general perception that there is no traction in negotiations," Scotiabank said. "Nor should any progress be expected in what is likely to be a stalemate."

In company news, Home Depot (HD) reported fiscal first-quarter results above market expectations despite consumer uncertainty, while the home improvement retailer reiterated its full-year outlook. The company's shares were up 0.4% intraday.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares were up 0.7% intraday, recovering from a slide earlier in the session.

The chipmaking giant's fiscal first-quarter sales are expected to outperform market projections, with potential for "enhanced" cash returns likely to be among the key areas of focus, BofA Securities said in a note e-mailed Tuesday. Nvidia (NVDA) is scheduled to report results after the closing bell Wednesday.

Gold was down 1.2% at $4,504.40 per troy ounce, while silver lost 3.6% to $74.65 per ounce.

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