Asian equity markets showed a mixed picture on Monday, but the biggest headline came from Japan where SoftBank Group Corp., a major backer of OpenAI, saw its shares plunge 11.2% after the AI pioneer and rival Anthropic publicly called for a slowdown in artificial‑intelligence development to ensure safety.
AI safety concerns drive market reaction
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman supported Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei in a weekend statement urging regulators to consider tighter controls on AI research. Altman also told Fortune that OpenAI will postpone its planned initial public offering this year to focus on safety measures. Both OpenAI and Anthropic remain private for now, though they are expected to go public in the coming months.
Morningstar analyst Dan Baker said the sharp drop in SoftBank’s stock “probably reflects the possibility that AI development may be slowed by regulators to try to avoid the worst‑case outcomes that Anthropic and OpenAI have discussed.” He added that any future incidents involving loss of control of newer AI models could further dampen investor confidence.
Regional market moves
South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 2.5% to 6,739.68, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% to 63,474.58. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose modestly 0.3% to 24,886.81, and the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,894.28.
Other technology‑related stocks in Asia also felt the pressure. South Korea’s memory‑chip leader SK Hynix dropped 5.3%, Samsung Electronics fell 2.8%, Japan’s Tokyo Electron slipped 0.9%, and memory maker Kioxia sank 6%.
Commodities and broader market context
Oil prices surged more than 3% as concerns grew over global supplies after Saudi Arabia shut a major pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz following an attack. Brent crude rose 3.2% to $107.94 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude climbed to $103.26 per barrel.
U.S. equity futures edged lower, and Wall Street’s major indices posted modest gains on Friday, ending a four‑day losing streak. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1%.
Monetary‑policy backdrop
Investors are watching this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, where policymakers could raise rates as inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Rising inflationary pressures from the Iran‑related energy shock and growing U.S. government debt have prompted a sell‑off in Treasury bonds, pushing the 10‑year yield to 4.98%.
Despite the Fed’s expanded Treasury buyback program aimed at stabilizing the bond market, yields have edged higher, reflecting ongoing concerns about fiscal sustainability.
Currency movements
The U.S. dollar strengthened to 154.06 Japanese yen, up from 153.58 yen, while the euro slipped to $1.1570 from $1.1598.
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
