Futures tracking the Nasdaq 100 opened lower on Monday, reflecting a sell‑off in companies heavily exposed to artificial‑intelligence development after leading executives called for a more cautious pace. At 04:46 a.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 e‑minis slipped 1.72%, while the Dow and S&P 500 e‑minis fell 0.18% and 0.70% respectively.
AI leaders urge restraint
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei warned on Saturday that the industry should temper the speed at which AI models advance. Both Elon Musk, who runs xAI, and OpenAI chief Sam Altman said they agreed with Amodei’s call for greater safety considerations.
The warning resonated with investors, prompting a drop of more than 2% in pre‑market trading for Nvidia, the sector’s bellwether. Fellow “Magnificent Seven” members Meta and Amazon each slipped just over 1%.
Chipmakers feel the pressure
Semiconductor makers also took a hit, with Intel down nearly 6%, AMD off about 5%, and Marvell Technology sliding roughly 6% as the market reassessed the near‑term demand for AI‑focused chips.
Software firms show resilience
Not all tech stocks followed the downward trend. U.S. software companies, which have faced concerns that AI could disrupt traditional business models, posted gains. ServiceNow rose 3%, Adobe climbed 2.5%, and Workday added another 2.5%.
Investor commentary
Some market participants cautioned against overreacting to the warnings. Michael Burry, famed for his 2008 housing‑market short, suggested on X that the calls for caution might be an attempt by established players to limit competition from smaller innovators. Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, echoed the sentiment, noting that “the strongest arguments for caution are those grounded in evidence, not fear.” He warned that both incumbent firms and speculative forecasts could distort market expectations.
Broader market context
The technology pullback comes ahead of a likely Federal Reserve rate decision later this week. Traders are pricing in an 89% probability of a rate hike, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Recent data showed accelerating inflation, adding further pressure on equities.
Energy markets also moved sharply, with Brent crude futures up 3.6% to $108.31 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate advancing 3.3% to $103.35, levels not seen since May.
Outlook
While AI‑related stocks experienced a short‑term dip, the broader market remains attentive to both safety concerns and the underlying growth potential of the technology. Investors will be watching upcoming Fed policy signals and further commentary from industry leaders to gauge whether the current caution is a temporary correction or a longer‑term shift in sentiment.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
