How major US stock indexes fared Monday 5/18/2026

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Oil prices and stock markets worldwide kept swinging with uncertainty about what will happen with the Iran war.

The S&P 500 swiveled between gains and losses in the morning before ending 0.1% lower Monday, its second straight drop since setting an all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%.

Stock prices moved in the opposite direction of oil prices, which went from an overnight pop higher to a drop and then yo-yoed again. The latest drop for oil came late in the day after President Donald Trump said he would hold off on a military attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday.

On Monday:

The S&P 500 fell 5.45 points, or 0.1%, to 7,403.05.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 159.95 points, or 0.3%, to 49,686.12.

The Nasdaq composite fell 134.41 points, or 0.5%, to 26,090.73.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 18.20 points, or 0.7% to 2,775.10.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 557.55 points, or 8.1%.

The Dow is up 1,622.83 points, or 3.4%.

The Nasdaq is up 2,848.74 points, or 12.3%.

The Russell 2000 is up 293.19 points, or 11.8%.