S&P futures are up 0.3% Wednesday morning after U.S. equities finished lower Tuesday, with the S&P 500 down for a third straight session. Homebuilders, materials, industrial goods, private equity, and dollar stores were among the weakest groups, while momentum remained under pressure but finished off lows. Healthcare, Energy, and Utilities each gained roughly 1%, and Staples also outperformed. Global markets are mixed, with Asia mostly lower but off worst levels, Japan and Australia down more than 1%, South Korea pressured by Samsung strike concerns, and Europe up 0.5%. Treasuries are firmer, with yields down 1–3 bp after Tuesday’s backup, the dollar is up 0.1%, gold and silver are lower, Bitcoin futures are slightly higher, and WTI crude is down 2.1%.
Yield stabilization is the main macro support this morning, helped by cooler UK CPI and a pullback in crude. U.S.-Iran headlines remain fluid, with limited visibility on diplomatic progress but more reports of ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Earnings are the key focus today, with retail results this morning and NVDA after the close. Home Depot’s relatively stable consumer commentary helped sentiment Tuesday, while Nvidia is expected to reinforce the AI compute-demand narrative that has powered the recent momentum rally. Still, the higher-rate backdrop continues to weigh on cyclicals.
Economic Calendar
No major U.S. data this morning. Fed’s Barr speaks before the open, and the April FOMC minutes are due at 2:00 p.m. Thursday brings claims, Philly Fed manufacturing, housing starts, and flash PMIs, with manufacturing expected to fall to 53.7 from 54.5 and services expected unchanged at 51.0. Friday brings final University of Michigan sentiment and inflation expectations. Kevin Warsh will also be sworn in as Fed Chair, with markets focused on how he balances dovish productivity views against elevated inflation concerns and political pressure.
Company News
- TJX / LOW / TGT / ADI: Key reporters this morning. ADI confirmed a deal to acquire Empower Semiconductor for $1.5B.
- NVDA: Reports after the close, with focus on AI compute demand, guidance, supply constraints, margins, and data-center visibility.
- KEYS: Beat and raised, with positive takeaways around orders, backlog strength, and leverage to AI infrastructure buildout.
- TOL: Higher after a fiscal Q2 beat and raised FY guidance across key homebuilding metrics, though investors flagged a softer fiscal Q3 guide.
- VIAV: Lower on a secondary offering.
- CAVA: Big gainer after a beat-and-raise, with nearly 10% comp growth; takeaways noted a low bar after the recent selloff.
- RBLX: Announced a $3B share repurchase program.
- CE: Announced an engineered-materials price increase.
- BABA: Unveiled a new AI chip that is reportedly 3x more powerful than its predecessor.
U.S. equities finished lower Tuesday, with the Dow down 0.65%, S&P 500 down 0.67%, Nasdaq down 0.84%, and Russell 2000 down 1.01%, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq declined for a third straight session. The main macro pressure came from another backup in Treasury yields, with the 2-year up 4 bp to 4.11%, the 10-year up 6 bp to 4.66%, and the 30-year up 4 bp to 5.18% after earlier reaching its highest level since 2007. Inflation, fiscal concerns, solid macro data, Fed leadership uncertainty, and overseas sovereign-yield pressure all remained in focus. WTI crude was little changed at $108.59 after Monday’s rally, while the dollar rose 0.1%, gold fell 1.6%, silver dropped 2.9%, and Bitcoin futures were flat. The U.S.-Iran ceasefire continued to hold as talks progressed, though Trump warned of a potential “big hit” if negotiations stall, keeping adverse energy and supply-chain disruption risks in play. Economic data were mixed: ADP estimated private employers added an average of 42,250 jobs per week over the four weeks through May 2, while April pending home sales rose 1.4% m/m, above the 1.0% consensus.
Sector performance showed a defensive tilt. Healthcare led, up 1.09%, followed by Energy +1.03%, Utilities +0.99%, Real Estate +0.50%, and Consumer Staples +0.39%. Technology fell 0.71%, while the larger laggards were Materials down 2.28%, Communication Services down 1.58%, Consumer Discretionary down 1.32%, Financials down 1.23%, and Industrials down 1.17%. Outperformers included pharma/biotech, MedTech, energy, trucking, parcels/logistics, waste, grocers/staples retailers, telecom, and China tech. Laggards included machinery, airlines, credit cards, private equity, payments, homebuilders, chemicals, containerboard, hospitals, cruise lines, nuclear, quantum computing, AI enablers, momentum, and high-beta stocks.
Information Technology
- CRWV -3.8%: Fell after Alphabet and Blackstone announced a new AI cloud company using Google TPUs, creating a potential competitive threat to CoreWeave.
- AGYS +12.5%: Fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue beat, helped by strong subscription results and record backlog. FY27 guidance midpoints came in ahead of the Street, with management noting Marriott’s PMS technology transformation project remains on target.
- INTC: Reportedly urging PC clients to increase use of CPUs built on its 18A process amid an industry-wide CPU shortage.
- INTC / QCOM: Reportedly among potential buyers for AI chip startup Tenstorrent, which could be valued at more than $5B.
- ADI: Reportedly in advanced talks to acquire privately held Empower Semiconductor for $1.5B in cash.
- Microsoft: Introduced new Surface devices for business and AI acceleration.
Communication Services
- China tech: Outperformed despite broader Communication Services weakness.
- Telecom: Also held up as investors rotated toward more defensive pockets.
Consumer Discretionary
- HD: Comparable sales were light, but sales and EPS beat expectations. Management reiterated FY guidance and said conditions remain similar to last year despite higher consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure.
- AS +2.1%: Amer Sports beat Q1 revenue, margins, adjusted EBITDA, and EPS, with outperformance across segments and geographies. Management raised FY26 guidance and highlighted momentum at Arc’teryx.
- DRVN -7.1%: Completed its restatement of prior-period financials and reiterated preliminary Q1 results, but 2026 guidance midpoints came in below consensus.
- STUB +2.3%: Upgraded to buy from neutral at Guggenheim, which cited upside from direct issuance and advertising initiatives.
- Homebuilders / airlines / cruise lines: Underperformed as higher rates and consumer-pressure concerns weighed on cyclicals.
Consumer Staples
- Grocers / staples retailers: Outperformed as investors favored more defensive consumer exposure.
Energy
- Energy +1.03%: Outperformed as oil remained elevated and investors continued to price geopolitical supply risks.
- Energy headlines: The U.S. imposed new Iran-related sanctions, while headlines also noted possible waivers around Russian crude and refined products already loaded on tankers.
Financials
- Payments / credit cards / private equity: Underperformed as Financials fell 1.23%.
- TCPC: Remained in focus after reports that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is examining valuation practices.
- Standard Chartered: Reportedly plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over four years, citing AI.
Healthcare
- BIO: Continued to be supported by reports that Elliott has built a sizable stake and will push management to improve the share price.
- Hospitals: Lagged within the broader healthcare complex.
Industrials
- EXP +1.7%: Fiscal Q4 earnings beat, with revenue better across segments. Cement was a standout, helped by public-infrastructure construction, while Gypsum Wallboard was weaker on softer residential construction.
- Trucking / parcels / logistics / waste: Outperformed as investors rotated into more defensive industrial areas.
- Machinery: Underperformed as Industrials lagged the broader market.
Materials
- TE -1.7%: Fell after Fuzzy Panda Research alleged the company will soon issue accounting restatements and claimed it is not compliant with Foreign Entity of Concern regulations.
- Chemicals / containerboard: Underperformed, helping make Materials the weakest sector.
Eco Data Releases | Wednesday May 20th, 2026
S&P 500 Constituent Earnings Announcements | Wednesday May 20th, 2026
Data sourced from FactSet Research Systems Inc.
