<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Both the S&amp;P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) are trading lower on Thursday amid rising oil prices and a concerning development coming out of Iran.</p><h3>Meet Samuel – Your Personal Investing Prophet</h3><ul><li>Start a conversation with  TipRanks' trusted, data-backed investment intelligence </li><li> Ask Samuel about stocks, your portfolio, or the market and get instant, personalized insights in seconds</li></ul> <p>Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has stated that the country's stockpile of highly enriched uranium will remain inside the country, two Iranian officials told <em>Reuters</em>. That contrasts with the position of the U.S. and Israel, which have pushed for Tehran to move its stockpile to a third country as part of any agreement.</p> <h2><strong>Iran Report Disputed as Walmart Lags, Semis Bounce</strong></h2> <p>Fox News White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie pushed back on the report, citing a source directly involved in the negotiations who said the claim that Iran would refuse to transfer its stockpile is false.</p> <p>Elsewhere, consumer defensive stocks are dragging the market lower, with Walmart (WMT) leading the sector to the downside following a disappointing earnings report. On the other hand, semiconductor and memory chips have rallied higher from their morning lows as investors digest Nvidia's (NVDA) results.</p></div>

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<p>The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are down due to rising oil prices and tensions regarding Iran's uranium stockpile. Iranian officials claim the stockpile will remain in the country, conflicting with U.S. and Israeli demands. Consumer defensive stocks, particularly Walmart, are also dragging the market down after a poor earnings report, while semiconductor stocks are recovering following Nvidia's results.</p>

- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are trading lower due to rising oil prices and developments from Iran regarding uranium stockpiles.  
- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei stated that Iran will retain its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, conflicting with U.S. and Israeli positions urging transfer to a third country.  
- Additionally, consumer defensive stocks, particularly Walmart, are suffering following disappointing earnings, while semiconductor stocks have rebounded amid positive investor reactions to Nvidia's results.

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NASDAQ-100

S&P 500

NVIDIA

Direxion Daily NVDA Bull 2X Shares

Invesco QQQ Trust

iShares Core S&P 500

VanEck Semiconductor ETF

GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted

Proshares UltraPro QQQ

iShares US Consumer Staples ETF

SPDR FD Consumer Staples

VG S&P 500

SPDR S&P 500

T-Rex 2X Long NVIDIA Daily Target ETF

Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF

ProShares Ultra Consumer Staples

Walmart

NVIDIA Corporation

Why Is the Stock Market Down Today, 5/21/26?