Y’all Street Daily
The 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.33%, its highest since 2007, and richly valued AI and semiconductor names took the brunt of the selling.
All figures are indicative opening levels as of this morning, August 19.
Market Snapshot
The tone is risk-off across US benchmarks, with the Nasdaq leading the way down around 1.3% and the Dow holding up best.
Gold ticked higher and the dollar softened, the classic pairing when long-dated yields are doing the heavy lifting.
The VIX near 15.77 stayed subdued, so this reads more like a repricing of rates than broad equity panic.
The chip complex bore the weight of the move among the stocks in the news today.
Nvidia slipped around 2.3% ahead of its August 26 report, Micron dropped around 7% as the AI trade came off the boil, and Target bucked the tape up around 1% on earnings day.
Main Story
The story today is not tech itself but the price of money, and long-dated Treasuries just made it more expensive.
- The 30-year Treasury yield pushed to a 19-year high near 5.33% before easing to around 5.285%, dragging the Nasdaq down around 1.3% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index nearly 5%.
- The mainstream read is that higher long-term yields shrink the present value of the far-off earnings that justify AI valuations and raise the cost of financing the data-center buildout.
- Worth watching is that the long end is climbing while short rates fall, a steepening that points at fiscal and inflation worries rather than Fed tightening, which puts even more weight on Nvidia’s August 26 results.
Chart of the Day
Nvidia is the chart that matters today, the bellwether for the whole AI trade a week out from earnings.
The stock has run from around 190 in late July back above 219, only to stall just shy of its recent high near 225.
It still sits comfortably above its 50-day average near 207, so the uptrend holds, and the 217 area is the floor bulls will want to defend.
Technical Trading
A few levels worth marking as yields and chips wrestle for control.
- The 30-year yield has cleared the 5.0 to 5.2% band that capped it three times in July, with Fundstrat’s Mark Newton eyeing 5.60 to 5.70% next.
- Nvidia closed around 219.74, below recent resistance near 227 and its 52-week high of 236.54, with support around 217.
- The VIX near 15.77 is not confirming the equity weakness, a divergence that often precedes either a quick bounce or a delayed shakeout.
Global News
- Asian chipmakers led a global tech rout, with South Korea’s KOSPI down around 5.8% and SK Hynix off more than 9% as the US selloff spread overseas.
- Japan’s Nikkei fell more than 3%, extending the risk-off tone across the region.
- Oil firmed after President Trump said the US is not in talks with Iran, reviving supply worries and adding to inflation concerns.
- Elevated bond yields worldwide, not just in the US, are pressuring risk appetite as investors reprice long-term inflation.
Texas News
The Dallas Fed’s latest energy survey showed oil and gas activity accelerating, with its business activity index jumping to 46.1 last quarter, the strongest reading since 2022.
Cost pressures are building alongside it, with roughly two-thirds of oilfield services firms reporting higher input costs.
Looking Ahead
Thursday, August 20: Walmart reports, the marquee read on the US consumer and a test of whether retail can offset the tech wobble.
Tuesday, August 26: Nvidia reports after the close, the single biggest test of whether AI spending can justify current valuations.
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Prices from Yahoo Finance, CNBC and Fortune. Technical levels from Investing.com and FXStreet. News from Reuters, Al Jazeera and CNBC.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Prices are indicative opening levels and may differ from your broker.
