Top Pros' Top Picks 5/19/26

Market Minute ⏱️ 5/19/26: Oil Simmers While AI Competition Heats Up

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

Crude oil is simmering amid conflicting headlines, while equities are slipping along with gold and silver. Treasury yields are inching higher, while the dollar is flatlining. 

Markets are wrestling with the “Will he or won’t he?” question on Iran – as in will President Trump resume military strikes. Late yesterday, markets rose a bit after Trump said he delayed imminent strikes at the request of a trio of Gulf countries. But the rallies from each “threat and truce talk” cycle are getting more modest because nothing is coming out of them. Crude oil is holding firm today, though not punching through to fresh highs.

NVDA, GOOGL, BX (YTD % Change)

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) earnings are in focus this week, with the chip giant reporting results after the close on Wednesday. Analysts expect fiscal Q1 revenue of $79 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $1.81. But ahead of the event, competition is heating up.

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) and Blackstone Inc. (BX) are reportedly pouring $5 billion into a new AI venture, one that will use the former’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to provide compute services. Most data centers currently use NVDA chips to run AI models. But Alphabet is increasingly competing directly with Nvidia as part of a push to monetize technology it has developed.

Finally, interest rate pressures continue to lurk in the background. The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury Note topped 4.6% in early trading, while the 30-year yield tagged 5.15%. Some bond buyers are being enticed by the highest yields in 19 years, while others remain wary of further increases – to around 5.5% in the case of 30s. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) has shed 2.7% of its value this year...and 27.7% over the last half decade.

Masonson: Triple-Leveraged, Tech-Focused ETFs Decoded

• Bonds: Selling Off and Sending Yields Higher Globally
  👉️ TICKERS: TYX, TLT
  After the breakout in global bond yields last Friday, they continued higher on Monday, albeit more modestly. It started in Japan, writes Peter Boockvar, editor of The Boock Report.

• BKNG: Hurt by Middle East Conflict, But Still a Buy
  👉️ TICKER: BKNG
  Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) delivered a strong quarter, but cut its full-year forecast as the conflict in the Middle East disrupts travel worldwide. Room nights booked grew 6%, highlights Doug Gerlach, editor of Investor Advisory Service.

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