NVDA, TSLA, PLTR: Stocks Fall as 30-Year Treasury Tops 5%

Stocks are deep in the red on May 15 as U.S. Treasury yields jump above 5% for the first time in a year.

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The yield on the 30-year bond is up more than 10 basis points to yield 5.114%, its highest level since May 22 of last year and nearing its highest reading since October 2023. The upsurge comes after disappointing inflation data and as traders looked to the new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and the prospect of higher interest rates in coming months.

At the same time, the two-year Treasury note yield, which tends to react to short-term Federal Reserve rate decisions, was more than eight basis points higher at 4.075%. One basis point equals 0.01%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another.

Pressuring Stocks

The sharp rise in Treasury yields is pressuring stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 500 points on the day, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq (NDAQ) exchange down 1.43%. Richly valued technology stocks are getting particularly hard hit.

Tech stocks down on the day include Nvidia (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), and Palantir (PLTR). The jump in Treasury yields comes as Warsh, who was confirmed by the Senate earlier this week, grapples with an increasingly complicated inflation picture.

U.S. President Donald Trump continues to push for interest rate cuts, even as data on consumer prices and imports shows prices steadily rising due to his costly war in Iran.