Dow Jones Drops Nearly 2% as Tech Stocks Slide; Gold Gains Amid Market Caution
On May 21, major global markets reflected growing investor caution as U.S. equities experienced a broad selloff. A rise in Treasury yields, ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, and profit-taking in high-growth sectors contributed to the market’s decline.
U.S. Markets: Broad-Based Decline Led by Technology
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed significantly lower:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 816.80 points, or 1.91%, ending at 41,860.44
- S&P 500 declined by 95.85 points, or 1.61%, to close at 5,844.61
- Nasdaq Composite lost 270.07 points, or 1.41%, finishing at 18,872.64
Large-cap technology stocks saw notable losses. Tesla, Apple, and Microsoft each dropped more than 2%, while Amazon and NVIDIA declined over 1%. In contrast, Alphabet (Google) defied the trend, rising nearly 3% on strong trading volume.
Sectors including cruise lines, real estate services, and energy posted the steepest declines. Norwegian Cruise Line and Valero Energy both fell over 5%, while Marathon Oil dropped more than 3%.
Chinese and European Markets
Chinese ADRs also faced pressure, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index falling 0.72%. Notable movers included:
- Baidu: down more than 8%
- XPeng: down over 4%
- GDS: up more than 7%
- IQIYI and Li Auto: both up more than 3%
In Europe, market movements were mixed:
- FTSE 100 (London) closed at 8,786.46, up 0.06%
- CAC 40 (Paris) fell 0.40% to 7,910.49
- DAX (Frankfurt) gained 0.36%, closing at 24,122.40
Commodity Markets: Gold Strengthens, Oil Retreats
Amid geopolitical uncertainty and a weaker U.S. dollar, investors turned to gold:
- COMEX Gold Futures rose $28.90, or 0.88%, to settle at $3,313.50 per ounce
Oil prices declined on the day due to an unexpected inventory build and concerns over global demand:
- WTI Crude (NYMEX) fell $0.46, or 0.74%, to $61.57 per barrel
- Brent Crude (ICE) declined $0.47, or 0.72%, to $64.91 per barrel
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