Wall Street look set to hit the buffers as tech sector takes fright amid AI concerns

Wall Street ended lower on Monday as a selloff in major technology and semiconductor stocks weighed on the broader market, while rising oil prices and Treasury yields added to the pressure.

The Nasdaq fell 0.6% to 26,186, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 7,620. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 152 points, or 0.3%, to 52,421.

AI-related stocks were among the biggest decliners after prominent industry figures called for a more measured pace of development, raising concerns about future demand for high-end chips, memory and data center infrastructure.

The AI debate took another turn when President Donald Trump called Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on the stage during the All-In Summit this afternoon. Trump dismissed concerns about AI and robots taking over, calling the broader fears a "hoax."

Elsewhere, higher oil prices and bond yields added to the cautious mood. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly climbed above 5%, its highest level since 2023, increasing pressure on equity valuations as investors headed into a key week for monetary policy.

Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Corp. (OTCQB:LBSR) appointed former Texas Governor and US Energy Secretary Rick Perry as an advisor to its Board of Directors on critical minerals strategy.

Royal Road Minerals Ltd (TSX-V:RYR, OTC:RRDMF, FRA:RLU) has started diamond drilling at the Güíntar target within its GAM gold-copper-silver project in Colombia to test extensions of previously identified mineralization.

TNR Gold Corp (TSX-V:TNR, FRA:TNW, OTC:TRRXF) said proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended shareholders elect Kirill Klip, citing the need for institutional knowledge and continuity at the company.

Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT) said CEO and board member Dr. Philipp Stratmann stepped down by mutual agreement, with Tracy Pagliara appointed acting CEO, president and board member.

Trust Stamp Inc (NASDAQ:IDAI, ISE:AIID) is expanding its partnership with ID Dataweb to extend the use of its biometric tokenization and identity fraud mitigation technology across ID Dataweb's enterprise customer base.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) rose 15.42% to $238.63 as warnings about the risks of AI development fueled expectations that companies could increase spending on cybersecurity and threat protection.

Rumble Inc (NASDAQ:RUM) jumped 27% to $1.99 after The Information reported that Anthropic had signed a six-year, $13.7 billion computing deal with the company, which had disclosed the contract in August without naming its customer.

Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Corp. (OTCQB:LBSR) appointed former Texas Governor and US Energy Secretary Rick Perry as an advisor to its Board of Directors on critical minerals strategy.

Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD), Micron Technology and Broadcom fell as calls for slower AI development raised concerns about future spending on chips and other AI hardware.

Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL, XETRA:ORC) fell around 4% after co-founder Larry Ellison cancelled a previously disclosed plan to sell 50 million shares worth about $7.5 billion without giving a reason.

Royal Road Minerals Ltd (TSX-V:RYR, OTC:RRDMF, FRA:RLU) has started diamond drilling at the Güíntar target within its GAM gold-copper-silver project in Colombia to test down-plunge and down-dip extensions of previously identified mineralization.

TNR Gold Corp (TSX-V:TNR, FRA:TNW, OTC:TRRXF) said proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended shareholders elect Kirill Klip, citing the need for institutional knowledge and continuity while finding that a rival proposal lacked an adequate go-forward plan.

Dario Amodei, chief executive of artificial intelligence (AI) developer Anthropic (Unlisted (US):ANTHRO), has joined warnings about the technology's dangers and urged the industry to slow its development.

In an essay published over the weekend, Amodei wrote that "for too long the industry lied to people about the fact that this technology had risks."

His comments followed warnings from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon that Anthropic and fellow AI developer OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI) were "gambling with our lives."

Coxon warned that AI could end humanity, comparing the threat to 'Terminator' and saying it will be "smart enough to kill us."

Wall Street heads into a pivotal week with the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision on Wednesday expected to dominate trading, as investors prepare for what would be the central bank's first rate increase of the current cycle.

Federal funds futures are pricing in roughly an 85% probability of a 25-basis-point hike. With the move largely expected, investors will focus on the Fed's policy statement and Chair Kevin Warsh's 2:30pm ET press conference for clues about the path for further rate increases.

The decision comes after hotter-than-expected inflation data and a sharp rise in oil prices. Brent crude was above $107 a barrel early Monday, adding to concerns that higher energy costs could keep inflation elevated.

Away from the Fed, corporate earnings will be relatively light. Dave & Buster's is scheduled to report Monday, while Lennar reports Wednesday. Salesforce will also hold an investor day and analyst session Wednesday during its Dreamforce event, putting the software giant in focus alongside the Fed.

Carnival reports Thursday, followed by VinFast on Friday.

US stocks moved lower at the open Monday as investors digested a weekend push from several high-profile AI leaders for a slower approach to developing increasingly advanced models on safety grounds.

The Nasdaq fell 0.7% to 26,142, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 7,620 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 52,471.

The AI trade was under pressure, with Nvidia shares falling 3.2% and AMD down 4.7%. Marvell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise also pulled back after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in AI development, a position backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis.

Altman also said over the weekend that OpenAI does not plan to pursue an initial public offering this year, while warning that making AI safer will come with "significant costs." Meanwhile, cybersecurity stocks including CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks gained, helped by news of a hack targeting fintech company Revolut.

US stock futures sank on Monday after the two leading frontier artificial intelligence companies called for an industrywide slowdown in AI development, sending tech stocks tumbling.

Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 1.5%, led by losses in chip stocks including Nvidia. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.3% and S&P 500 futures fell 0.6%. In Asia, memory chip makers SK Hynix and Samsung declined.

The sell-off followed a 3,800-word essay from Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, who argued over the weekend that AI companies should slow the pace of improving their models to address safety concerns. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman agreed in a post on X, putting the two labs at odds with a Wall Street that has banked on rapid progress.

Altman also told Fortune that OpenAI has delayed its stock market debut until 2027. Anthropic still plans to list this autumn and has reportedly chosen the Nasdaq.

Oil added to the pressure, with Brent crude trading near $108 a barrel after Saudi Arabia shut a key pipeline. Attention now turns to Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting, with bets on a rate rise having spiked to 86% after Friday's inflation report.