Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 6, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt getty images
S&P 500 And nasdaq composite Technology led the decline on Monday, as traders kept an eye on oil prices and bond yields while awaiting further developments with the conflict in the Middle East.
The broader market index dropped 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 1.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average The stock traded down 131 points or 0.3%.
seagate The selloff in the memory chip sector began after the CEO said during a JPMorgan conference that building new factories would “take too much time.” Seagate fell 10% and dragged peers micron technology 8% less with this. The comments added to concerns that the memory chip industry does not have the capacity to meet rising demand.
With Seagate and Micron, shares of Western Digital And SanDisk Each declined by 8%. Additionally, fellow artificial intelligence-related stocks such as NVIDIA And broadcom There was a loss of 2% and 1% respectively.
Meanwhile, oil prices were high. West Texas Intermediate Futures Whereas, it is trading above $109 per barrel, rising 3% crude oil The stock rose 3% to trade at about $112 a barrel.
These moves come during a delicate time for stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new record highs last week, while the Dow briefly reclaimed the 50,000 level.
However, the major averages suffered a blow on Friday as sovereign bond yields rose around the world. America 30 years of treasure Bond yields reached their highest level in almost a year. Along with this, a slight change was made in it last time 10 year treasure Yield. In the UK, 30-year gilt yields reached levels not seen since the 1990s, along with longer-dated Japanese bond yields.
Tech stocks, which were driving the market to record highs, were battered by the rise in yields. The Nasdaq-100 index fell 1.5% on Friday, its worst one-day performance since March 27.
Tensions still remain high between Iran and the US, keeping oil prices high as the path forward in the conflict remains unclear. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said Iran “must move forward” or there will be “nothing left.” Peace talks between the two countries have hit an impasse, as Axios reported that Iran has sent an updated peace proposal, but the US still considers it insufficient for a deal.
Moreover, new inflation data released last week makes it unlikely that the Federal Reserve will cut rates any time soon.
“There are indeed inflation problems,” Ben Fulton, CEO of Webbs Investments, told CNBC. He described high oil prices as a “watershed” issue. “It would be hard to see that offset.”
This means stocks could be in “heavy range trading” from here without positive developments out of the Middle East, particularly with regard to the Strait of Hormuz, he said.
“I can see people starting to protect profits very quickly,” Fulton said.
