Chip Stocks Led Decliners On Wall Street as Benchmark Indexes Stayed Near Recent Record Highs

Barry Adams
19 May, 2026
New York City

Wall Street indexes extended their decline to the second consecutive session amid anxieties over the rising level of layoffs in the tech sector. 

The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6%, and the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose to a one-year high of 4.61%. 

Chipmakers fell amid worries that the companies may struggle to meet rising demand from AI-driven data centers after comments from Seagate Technology CEO Dave Mosley. 

Mosley said at a JPMorgan Chase conference that building new factories could take too long to benefit from the demand boom, as chipmakers struggle with supply constraints from equipment makers and supply disruptions from key chemicals. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite rallied to new highs in the previous week as investors continued to allocate fresh capital to AI trades. 

However, investor sentiment remained fragile amid valuation worry and growing anxieties over the rising risks of global stagflation. 

 

U.S. Movers 

Home Depot declined 0.3% to $299.00 after the do-it-yourself retailer reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results ending on May 3. 

Revenue increased 4.8% to $41.8 billion from $39.8 billion, net income decreased 4.3% to $4.3 billion from $3.4 billion, and diluted earnings per share fell 4.3% to $3.31 from $3.46 a year ago. 

Comparable sales at U.S. stores rose 0.4% and advanced 0.6% across all locations. 

The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 outlook, with total sales growth falling between 2.5% and 4.5% and comparable sales growth ranging between flat and 2.0%. 

Diluted earnings per share are expected to range between flat and 4% from $14.23 in fiscal 2025. 

Akamai Technologies decreased 3.3% to $145.75 after the cloud computing and cybersecurity company proposed to raise $2.6 billion through a convertible senior note offering.