Nasdaq Falls 1.5% as Bond Yields Surge, Trump-Xi Summit Ends Without Breakthrough

U.S. stocks closed lower across the board on May 15, pressured by a sharp rise in global bond yields, renewed inflation fears fueled by high oil prices, and disappointment after a summit between the U.S. and Chinese leaders ended without a breakthrough.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.07% to 49,526.17.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.24% to 7,408.50, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 1.54% to 26,225.14.

Profit-taking hit the market, centered on technology stocks that had surged recently. Nvidia, the leading AI chipmaker, fell 4.42%, while Micron Technology tumbled 6.69%, Intel lost 6.18% and AMD declined 5.69%.

Investor sentiment weakened as inflation concerns resurfaced and bond yields jumped.

Tradeweb data showed the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 14 basis points to 4.60% near the close of New York stock trading. One basis point equals 0.01 percentage point.

Analysts attributed the increased rate burden to renewed inflation concerns and elevated oil prices amid the fallout from the war in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures settled up 3.4% at $109.26 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 4.2% to $105.42 a barrel.

President Donald Trump held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but the meeting failed to produce a concrete breakthrough or result on resolving the Iran crisis, further dampening market sentiment.

Kim Su-young, Hankyung.com reporter swimmingk@hankyung.com