Mid-Morning Look: May 18, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Monday, May 18, 2026

U.S. stock futures are mixed early as the S&P 500 is boosted by early gains in beaten up financials (XLF), communications (XLC) and consumer discretionary (XLY), all of which are down on a sector basis YTD coming into the day, while market leaders technology (XLK) and industrials (XLI) are seeing some early profit taking. U.S. futures were down notably overnight after weakness Friday, but that didn’t hold for long, rebounding as traders returned to their desks, getting a boost after WTI crude oil prices fell more than 2% to nearly $104 a barrel, reversing from overnight highs exceeding $108. (after jumping 10.5% to $105.42 last week) after reports the U.S. has proposed a temporary waiver on oil sanctions, state-media Tasnim reported early Monday. The U.S. hasn’t confirmed the offer. Prices had jumped overnight after investors reacted to reports of a drone strike triggering a fire near the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant, and President Trump Sunday posted on social media, “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” For the time being the “all-clear” was given for investors to resume buying in tech stocks with big jumps this morning in names like NVDA (ahead of earnings this week), INTC, AMD, all adding to all-time highs hit in recent days. Wall Street also awaits earnings from some of the biggest retailers with WMT, TGT, HD and LOW this week. Gold rose as a weaker U.S. dollar and lower crude oil prices eased some inflation concerns

Government bonds also taking a break after surging last week as the 10-year yield slips 2 bps to 4.57% after topping 4.63%, highest levels in over a year in overnight trading amid a global market selloff in longer-dated bonds driven by war-related inflation concerns. The 30-year Treasury bond yield was last down just over 1-bps at 5.116%. It similarly reached its highest level in over a year earlier in the day. The shorter-dated two-year yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, was last down 3.2 bps at 4.052%. Japanese 10 Year yields hit a 19 year high of 2.80%. In Europe, bund yields hit a 15 year high of 3.19% and UK gilt 10 Year yields touched a fresh 16 year high of near 5.19%.

• Chinese economic data released overnight was weaker than expected in April. Retail sales rose 0.2% vs. a year earlier, the weakest since the end of 2022 and below forecasts for 2%. Industrial production grew 4.1%, missing forecasts for 6%. Year-to-date fixed-asset investment fell 1.6% vs. targets for a 1.7% gain

• Retailers: Department store Macy’s (M) shares bounced after s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed a 5.4% stake in the department store operator, according to a regulatory filing. Williams Trading double upgraded VFC from Sell to Buy and raise tgt to $19 from $14 as a result of subtle increase in momentum within Vans, led by the LX Old Skool Pearlized Pack, as any improvement or likely improvement in Vans’ trends will be received well by investors. The firm also upgraded GOOS from Sell to Hold after Q426 revenue exceeded estimates, but earnings fell short as a result of increased wholesale revenue penetration. DECK upgraded from Underweight to Neutral at Piper with $100 tgt given its more cautious stance on the sneaker category Performance Running still has momentum and HOKA’s still lack diversification in silhouettes outside of Max cushioning.
• Security Software: Keybanc had off quarter checks as they raise tgt on CRWD to $700 from $525, NTSK to $15 from $13, OKTA to $103 from $95 and ZS to $190 from $160 saying their off-quarter Security checks markedly improved for PANW, upticked for Okta & ZS, were steady for CRWD, and mixed on RBRK. Given the timing of Mythos in early April, expects off-quarter Security earnings to be broadly healthier than on quarter, even though it didn’t necessarily pick up any direct benefit from Mythos within the April quarter. RAMP to be acquired by Publicis for a total enterprise value of about $2.2 billion in an all-cash deal as Publicis will pay $38.50 per share for LiveRamp, a 29.8% premium to the May 15 close.

• D +10%; as NEE said it will buy Dominion Energy (D) in a $66.8 billion deal, the companies said, in one of the largest acquisitions in the U.S. power industry as utilities chase surging electricity demand from AI-driven data centers; NEE said it would exchange 0.8138 of its stock for each outstanding share of Dominion.
• HIVE +30%; announced that BUZZ is advancing a major infrastructure investment in Ontario, anchored by a planned new industrial-scale Ai infrastructure facility, also known as an Ai gigafactory, in the Greater Toronto Area with approximately 320 megawatts, MW, of utility capacity.
• M +3%; shares bounced after s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed a 5.4% stake in the department store operator, according to a regulatory filing.
• NOW +8%; as seeing early continued strength from late last week in beaten up software stocks (CRM, CRWD, HUBS, MNDY, MDB, SNOW, ZS) while seeing some profit taking in semis which have been among the biggest tech leaders in 2026 (SOX), in a bout of rotation the last few days.
• RAMP +26%; as Publicis agreed to buy U.S. data collaboration company RAMP for a total enterprise value of about $2.2 billion in an all-cash deal as Publicis will pay $38.50 per share for LiveRamp, a 29.8% premium to the May 15 close. Publicis also raised its 2027 and 2028 constant-currency growth targets to 7-8% for net revenue.

• HIMS -7%; after announces proposed convertible Senior notes offering to support international expansion and accelerate Ai-driven platform investment; announces $300M convertible Senior notes offering due 2032 with $45M upsize option.
• MSTR -5%; as crypto stocks come under pressure (COIN, IBIT, BMNR) as the price of bitcoin tumbled -2% below $77K to a May low on President Donald Trump’s latest threat against Iran. Bitcoin skidded over the weekend after the 10-year Treasury yield on Friday jumped to its highest level in almost a year
• NBIS -6%; and CRWV were both assumed coverage at Davidson with Neutral ratings (down from Buys) and NBIS tgt stays $250 and CRWV cut to $100 from $175. For NBIS, believes shares deserve their current premium valuation, but also believe that may cap the upside in the short-term, so are taking a breather
• REGN -11%; shares tumble after announced a failure in a late-stage trial designed to evaluate a combination therapy involving its anti-PD-1 immunotherapy Libtayo against pembrolizumab, MRK cancer therapy Keytruda
• UNH -2%; after a handful of firms dump shares in last quarter 13F filings; Berkshire and Oakmark Funds both exited their positions, while Appaloosa and Tiger both reduced their stakes