U.S. equities pulled back from record highs Friday as higher oil prices and a bond-market rout reignited fears of interest-rate hikes, sending Treasury yields sharply higher and igniting a broad-based de-risking that hit AI hyperscalers and small caps the hardest.
No concrete agreements emerged from this week’s summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, leaving a U.S.–China diplomatic stalemate as an added drag on risk sentiment.
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Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed with no imminent breakthrough on a U.S.–Iran deal, keeping a war-risk premium firmly embedded in energy markets.
Brent crude jumped 3.6% to $109.51, while the WTI benchmark soared to 4.4% to $105.60 a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield surged roughly 10 basis points to 4.58%, its highest level in a year, while the 2-year climbed six basis points to 4.09%.
The 30-year yield jumped eight basis points to 5.12%. Traders are now fully priced out of a Federal Reserve rate cut for the remainder of 2026 and have begun discounting more than a 50% probability of an outright rate hike before year-end, with one full hike now fully priced into the curve by March 2027.
Across U.S. equity markets by midday Friday, losses were broad-based and concentrated in the high-momentum stocks.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1% to 7,420, slipping from Thursday’s all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 521 points, or 1%, to 49,542, with Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) extending Thursday’s 5% plunge after Trump’s confirmation of a 200-jet Chinese order came in well below Wall Street’s 500-jet expectation.
The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.6% to 29,115, and the small-cap Russell 2000 was the day’s biggest loser, sliding 2.4%.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) was the worst-performing name in tech, down 7%, followed by Micron Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:MU).
The Cboe Volatility Index — also known as the market’s fear gauge — climbed about 6.6% to 18.4
Within Magnificent Seven stocks, the carnage was led by Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), off 4.3%, and NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), down 3.5%, as profit-taking hit the AI infrastructure trade.
Precious metals were the day’s other casualty as a firming dollar and rising real yields triggered a violent unwind. Gold tumbled 2.6% to $4,532 an ounce, while silver collapsed 8.8% to $76, its largest single-day decline in months.
Friday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices
| Index | Last | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,420.24 | -1.08% |
| Dow Jones | 49,542 | -1% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,115 | -1.6% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,794.69 | -2.39% |
According to the Benzinga Pro platform:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) fell 1.1%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) slid 1.0%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) dropped 1.6%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) tumbled 2.4%.
Energy Roars, Metals Crater As Bond Rout Punishes Growth Bets
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) was the lone bright spot among the S&P 500 sectors, riding the surge in crude, up 1.7%.
On the losing side, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) led the slide, dragged by Tesla and the AI complex.
At the industry level, the energy theme was reinforced by a 3% rally in the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:XOP).
On the other side of the ledger, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) and VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) sank over 6% in line with the metals crash.
Among the day’s standout gainers, SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SEDG) surged 17% after the solar-equipment maker reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $310.5 million, up 46% year over year, and guided the second-quarter to $325-355 million with management projecting breakeven operating profit.
Globant S.A. (NYSE:GLOB) surged 13.4% after the IT-services firm posted first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.50, a penny above the $1.49 consensus, with revenue of $607.1 million topping the $601.5 million estimate.
Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG) rallied 10.7% after the design-software platform delivered first-quarter 2026 revenue of $333.4 million, up 46% year over year, with adjusted EPS of 10 cents, a 139% net dollar retention rate and a 54% jump in paying customers, prompting management to raise its full-year revenue guidance on accelerating AI adoption.
On the downside, Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) sank 9.3%, Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE:CRCL) tumbled 8.9% and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) dropped 8.6% in tandem with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)‘s slide below $80,000, as the risk-off rotation triggered leveraged-position unwinds across the entire crypto-equity complex.
AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) plunged 9% in direct response to the precious-metals rout
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) slid 7.7% after a two-day rally north of 20%.
Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers
| Name | % change |
|---|---|
| Globant S.A. | +13.36% |
| HubSpot Inc. (NYSE:HUBS) | +8.54% |
| Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ:TEAM) | +7.25% |
| Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ:TEAM) | +6.90% |
| Doximity Inc. (NYSE:DOCS) | +6.88% |
Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers
| Name | % change |
|---|---|
| Bullish | -9.33% |
| AngloGold Ashanti plc | -9% |
| Circle Internet Group, Inc. | -8.86% |
| Coinbase Global, Inc. | -8.62% |
| Ford Motor Company | -7.70% |
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