Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures fall as inflation worries persist

Web Desk May 19, 2026

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Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures fall as inflation worries persist

US stock futures slid as Wall Street weighed inflation concerns and counted down to Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) slid 0.2%, Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) fell 0.3% and 0.6% respectively.

In day trading, stocks closed mixed as rising oil prices and bond yields added to worries that inflation could become serious enough for the Federal Reserve to consider hiking interest rates.

Meanwhile, the resolution of the US-Iran war remained elusive. President Trump said Monday that “serious negotiations” are taking place and, at the request of Gulf allies, he had halted military action against Iran that was scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

The release of Nvidia (NVDA) earnings on Wednesday is the focal point of the week. Investors’ expectations for the world’s most valuable company are sky high. Moreover, Nvidia is a bellwether for the AI trade, which has become increasingly important in propping up markets amid inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.

LIVE 1 update

Oil falls following Trump comments on planned Iran strikes

Bloomberg reports:

Oil fell after President Donald Trump said he’d called off a strike on Iran planned for Tuesday following an appeal by Persian Gulf allies.

West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) for July dropped below $103 a barrel, after rising 3.3% on Monday, while Brent (BZ=F) closed above $112. Trump said in a social media post that the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates asked “to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place.”

Oil has rallied on uncertainty about the talks, and the possibility that the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz will choke off Persian Gulf energy supplies for longer. Trump has repeatedly threatened renewed military action against Iran without following through, and Tehran didn’t immediately confirm renewed discussions.

“The president’s calling off tomorrow’s ‘scheduled’ attack is a positive,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Muriel Siebert & Co. “The change of plans just shows how stochastic the situation is with negotiations.”

Trump said the US is prepared to attack if an acceptable deal isn’t reached but didn’t set a deadline.

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