| 📊 Alain’s Holdings — May 18, 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Name | Price | Change | Change % |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 678.91 | -0.53 | -0.08% |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | 705.88 | -3.05 | -0.43% |
| XIU.TO | iShares S&P/TSX 60 ETF | 49.82 | -0.49 | -0.97% |
| ⬇ Short Position | ||||
| WHR | Whirlpool Corporation | 39.47 | -0.54 | -1.35% |
Position change
Today I sold my position in VRT at $342.12. I bought it at 271.10. That gave me and appromate gain of 26% in 10 weeks.
Tech stumbles,
utilities surge
A $400B utility megadeal, a 52-week high on Treasury yields, and renewed Iran war anxiety split the market — the Dow alone closed green as semis led a second straight day of tech losses.
Major indices — closing prices
S&P 500
7,403
▼ −0.07%
2nd declineDow Jones
49,686
▲ +0.32% (+160 pts)
Only index upNasdaq
26,091
▼ −0.51%
Tech dragRussell 2000
2,775
▼ −0.65%
Yield pressureCommodities, crypto & rates
Brent Crude
$110/bbl
▲ +1.10%
Gold
$4,551
▼ −0.23%
Bitcoin
$76,356
▼ −2.13%
10-yr Yield
4.60%+
52-week high
Today’s biggest movers
D · Dominion Energy
Dominion Energy
NextEra confirmed a $66.8B all-stock acquisition — the largest utility deal in history. The combined entity will be the world’s largest regulated electric utility serving ~10 million customers across FL, VA, NC & SC. The real driver: AI data centers are consuming power faster than the grid can supply it. PJM wholesale power costs rose 75.5% YoY in Q1 2026.
NEE · NextEra Energy
NextEra Energy
The acquirer fell on dilution fears — a textbook all-stock deal reaction. NextEra shareholders will own 74.5% of the combined company. Dominion investors receive 0.8138 NEE shares per D share. Longer term, analysts see this as a transformative AI-infrastructure bet.
MMM · 3M
3M
Led the Dow to its lone green close. A broad rotation from high-multiple tech into defensives and industrials lifted 3M, with 20 of the Dow’s 30 components finishing in positive territory despite the tech headwinds.
CRM · Salesforce
Salesforce
Bucked the tech-selloff. Strong Q4 earnings momentum and AI product optimism around its Agentforce platform carried the stock higher despite BofA reinstating at “underperform” with a street-low $160 target — a bearish call the market largely shrugged off.
STX · Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology
Biggest single-stock drop of the day. At JPMorgan’s TMC conference, Seagate’s CEO warned new factories will “take too long” to meet surging AI storage demand — a stark reminder that the memory capacity crunch is real and deepening. Micron (MU) dragged down ~6% in sympathy.
REGN · Regeneron
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Worst biotech drop of the session after its Phase 3 melanoma treatment failed to achieve statistical significance in a late-stage trial. The setback erased weeks of gains and weighed on the broader XBI biotech ETF. Macy’s rose ~4% after Berkshire Hathaway revealed a small stake.
CAT · Caterpillar
Caterpillar
The Dow’s biggest single drag despite the index finishing positive. Tariff concerns and industrial headwinds weighed, a continuation of the pressure Caterpillar has faced all month as oil-driven inflation clouds the global growth outlook.
NVDA · Nvidia
Nvidia
Extended Friday’s losses ahead of its Q1 FY2027 earnings report on Wednesday. Wall Street is forecasting ~$78.8B in revenue (+77% YoY). KeyBanc raised its price target to $300 (from $275). The earnings print Wednesday is the most anticipated of the year — and could reset the entire AI narrative.
Three themes shaping the week
01
AI needs power — now
The NextEra-Dominion deal is the clearest sign yet that AI infrastructure demand is reshaping the U.S. power grid. Data centers account for 94% of PJM’s projected 32-gigawatt peak load growth through 2030.
02
Yields at multi-year highs
The 10-yr yield above 4.60% and the 20/30-yr at 2007 highs are compressing valuations on high-multiple growth stocks. Rate cuts are fully off the table. The bond market is the story of May 2026.
03
Iran & the Hormuz clock
Trump said Iran must “get moving FAST.” The IEA warned oil inventories have only weeks left. With Brent at $110, G7 finance ministers in Paris called reopening the strait “of the utmost importance.” The market is watching every headline.
What to watch this week
Today’s takeaway
“Opening the Strait of Hormuz and bringing the conflict to a lasting end are of the utmost importance in mitigating the impact on the economy.”
— Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Eurogroup President & Greek Finance Minister, G7 Paris, May 18, 2026
The big picture: The S&P 500 shed 1.24% to end at 7,408.50, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.54% to 26,225.14 and the Dow Jones fell 537 points (−1.07%) to close at 49,526. Despite the selloff, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the week up ~0.3%, and the Dow was down just 0.05% for the week. KiplingerCNBC
Why it sold off: Treasury yields hit nearly one-year highs and crude oil rose, stalling the tech rally. Fed rate-hike odds climbed to 45% for 2026 — up from just 1% a month ago. The Trump-Xi meeting ended with no major deals, and analysts flagged the unsustainable move in tech stocks starting to break down. The Globe and MailTheStreet
Key movers: Microsoft surged on Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square stake disclosure, while Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, Oracle, and Alphabet fell up to 4%. Intel retreated more than 6%, AMD fell 5.7%, and Micron dropped 6.6% as investors took profits after the AI-fueled rally. Yahoo FinanceKiplinger
Fed transition: Jerome Powell’s tenure as Fed Chair ends today, with Kevin Warsh set to take over amid historic FOMC division.
Other Stock Market blog posts
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