{"id":62193,"date":"2026-05-21T09:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T09:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:38:19","slug":"us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/","title":{"rendered":"US Markets Slide on Manufacturing Miss as Crude Surges and AI Competition Heats Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/#Key_Takeaways\" >Key Takeaways<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/#Markets_Open_in_Red_Amid_Manufacturing_Slump\" >Markets Open in Red Amid Manufacturing Slump<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/#Energy_and_Commodities_Diverge\" >Energy and Commodities Diverge<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/#AI_Arms_Race_Microsoft_Anthropic_and_Intel\" >AI Arms Race: Microsoft, Anthropic, and Intel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/#Geopolitical_and_Regulatory_Shifts\" >Geopolitical and Regulatory Shifts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-markets-slide-on-manufacturing-miss-as-crude-surges-and-ai-competition-heats-up\/62193\/#Corporate_Developments_and_Labor_Trends\" >Corporate Developments and Labor Trends<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Takeaways\"><\/span>Key Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>US indices opened lower<\/strong> following a significant miss in the <strong>Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index<\/strong>, which plunged to <strong>-0.4<\/strong> in May, far below the <strong>17.8<\/strong> estimate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>WTI Crude futures surged 4%<\/strong>, continuing a strong rally, while <strong>Spot <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">Gold<\/a> fell 1%<\/strong> to <strong>$4,507.37<\/strong> per ounce as market volatility shifted toward energy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> announced a massive <strong>$1 billion+ collaboration with EY<\/strong> and claimed its new <strong>Maia 200<\/strong> chip is more cost-effective than <strong>Nvidia (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> hardware for specific AI tasks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Initial Jobless Claims<\/strong> remained steady at <strong>209K<\/strong>, slightly beating expectations, while <strong>Housing Starts<\/strong> and <strong>Building Permits<\/strong> both outperformed analyst forecasts for April.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Trump administration<\/strong> signaled a major policy shift, announcing plans to <strong>postpone Biden-era refrigerant regulations<\/strong> and HFC phaseout requirements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Markets_Open_in_Red_Amid_Manufacturing_Slump\"><\/span>Markets Open in Red Amid Manufacturing Slump<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Wall Street started the day in negative territory as investors reacted to a sharp contraction in manufacturing activity. The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a><\/strong> dropped <strong>31.53 points (0.42%)<\/strong> to <strong>7,401.44<\/strong>, while the <strong>Nasdaq<\/strong> fell <strong>146.48 points (0.56%)<\/strong> to <strong>26,123.88<\/strong>. The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average<\/strong> also slipped <strong>0.29%<\/strong> to <strong>49,862.25<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The primary catalyst for the decline was the <strong>Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook<\/strong>, which crashed to <strong>-0.4<\/strong> from a previous reading of <strong>26.7<\/strong>. This unexpected weakness overshadowed positive data in the housing sector, where <strong>Building Permits<\/strong> rose <strong>5.8%<\/strong> to <strong>1442K<\/strong>, beating the <strong>1384K<\/strong> estimate.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Energy_and_Commodities_Diverge\"><\/span>Energy and Commodities Diverge<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>WTI Crude futures<\/strong> jumped <strong>4%<\/strong> on Thursday, extending recent gains amid shifting global supply expectations. <em>Market analysts suggest the rally reflects tightening energy markets<\/em>, even as other commodities faced selling pressure.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, <strong>Spot Gold<\/strong> retreated from recent highs, dropping <strong>1%<\/strong> to trade at <strong>$4,507.37<\/strong> per ounce. The move comes as the <strong>U.S. dollar<\/strong> showed resilience despite the mixed economic signals and as investors rebalanced portfolios following the manufacturing data release.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"AI_Arms_Race_Microsoft_Anthropic_and_Intel\"><\/span>AI Arms Race: Microsoft, Anthropic, and Intel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> made several major announcements, including a partnership with <strong>EY<\/strong> to invest over <strong>$1 billion<\/strong> in a new project. The tech giant also claimed its <strong>Maia 200<\/strong> AI chip offers better cost-efficiency than <strong>Nvidia (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> chips for certain inference workloads, signaling intensifying competition in the semiconductor space.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <strong>Anthropic<\/strong> is reportedly in early talks with <strong>Microsoft<\/strong> regarding AI chips and is expanding its <strong>Azure server rentals<\/strong>. <strong>Intel (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTC\">INTC<\/a>)<\/strong> also revealed its <strong>&quot;Superclaw&quot;<\/strong> design, aimed at powering AI PCs, agentic computers, and edge devices, as the company seeks to regain footing in the hardware market.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Geopolitical_and_Regulatory_Shifts\"><\/span>Geopolitical and Regulatory Shifts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The White House announced that <strong>President Trump<\/strong> will postpone the phaseout of <strong>hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)<\/strong> and other refrigerant regulations established by the previous administration. This decision, to be formally announced with the <strong>EPA Administrator<\/strong>, represents a significant rollback of environmental mandates.<\/p>\n<p>On the global stage, <strong>President Putin<\/strong> characterized nuclear weapons usage as a &quot;last-resort measure&quot; during drills with <strong>Belarus<\/strong>. Simultaneously, the <strong>IMF<\/strong> warned that the <strong>French economy<\/strong> faces &quot;high uncertainty&quot; due to election concerns and Middle East conflicts, which may hinder necessary budget adjustments.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Corporate_Developments_and_Labor_Trends\"><\/span>Corporate Developments and Labor Trends<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Parker-Hannifin (<a href=\"\/stock\/PH\">PH<\/a>)<\/strong> reached a <strong>$2.5 billion deal<\/strong> to acquire a unit of <strong>KKR-owned Circor<\/strong>, marking a significant consolidation in the industrial sector. In the labor market, <strong>Bank of England<\/strong> official <strong>Taylor<\/strong> noted that while the UK labor market is &quot;quite weak,&quot; wage normalization remains on track, though GDP growth is expected to remain sluggish.<\/p>\n<p>In the U.S., <strong>Initial Jobless Claims<\/strong> for the week ending May 16 came in at <strong>209K<\/strong>, nearly matching the <strong>210K<\/strong> estimate. <em>The stability in claims suggests the labor market remains resilient<\/em>, even as manufacturing indicators point toward a potential slowdown in industrial production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways US indices opened lower following a significant miss in the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, which plunged to -0.4 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