US Equity Indexes Jump Amid Sliding Treasury Yields, Crude Oil as Trump Says Iran Talks in Final Stages

04:49 PM EDT, 05/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes jumped at the close on Wednesday as government bond yields sank amid a slide in crude oil futures after President Donald Trump talked up expectations for an Iran peace agreement.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.6% to 26,270.36, with the S&P 500 up 1.1% to 7,432.97 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 1.3% to 50,009.35 on Wednesday.

Consumer discretionary and technology topped the sector charts. Energy was the worst performer.

US equity indexes closed higher on Wednesday in anticipation of strong results from the tech bellwether and AI poster child, Nvidia (NVDA) . The chipmaker reported after the bell stronger-than-expected fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue, beating market expectations. The chipmaker unveiled an additional $80 billion share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend.

Meanwhile, Iran negotiations are in the final stages, Reuters cited President Donald Trump as saying on Wednesday. The US president reiterated his warning of further attacks unless Tehran agrees to a deal.

"We're in the final stages of Iran. We'll see what happens," Trump was cited as telling reporters. "Either have a deal, or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won't happen."

"If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will extend beyond the region this time," Reuters cited the Revolutionary Guards as saying in a statement.

Brent crude futures slumped 5.7% to $104.91.

US Treasury yields fell, with the 30-year down 6.6 basis points to 5.11%, retreating from its highest since 2007. The 10-year dropped 9.3 basis points to 4.58%, also declining from its strongest level in more than a year.

In precious metals, gold futures rose 0.8% to $4,548.2, and silver futures climbed 1.5% to $76.27.

A majority of FOMC participants appear to be leaning away from rate cuts for now and were open to the possibility of rate increases, minutes of the April 28-29 meeting released Wednesday showed.

"Several participants highlighted that it would likely be appropriate to lower the target range for the federal funds rate once there are clear indications that disinflation is firmly back on track or if solid signs emerge of greater weakness in the labor market," the minutes said.

"A majority of participants highlighted, however, that some policy firming would likely become appropriate if inflation were to continue to run persistently above 2%," according to the minutes.

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