Trump rejects Iran proposal; OpenAI pause weighs on tech - what’s moving markets

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures fell on Monday as investors faced renewed uncertainty over the conflict involving Iran, a sharp rise in oil prices and fresh concerns about the pace and safety of artificial intelligence development.

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President Donald Trump's rejection of an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz added to energy-market worries, while OpenAI's decision to pause training on some of its latest AI models weighed on technology sentiment.

U.S. stock futures moved lower on Monday as investors braced for further weakness in technology stocks following OpenAI's decision to pause development of some advanced AI models.

By 03:50 ET, S&P 500 Futures had fallen 0.42% to 7,710.7 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 1% to 30,595 points. Dow Jones Futures fell 0.4% to 51,9977 points.

The weakness came as investors also assessed renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with Trump's rejection of an Iranian ceasefire proposal helping push oil prices sharply higher in early Asian trading.

Iran insisted Sunday that diplomacy is the only way to resolve its conflict with the U.S. and Israel after Trump rejected Tehran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the fighting.

Iran presented its peace proposal last week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump rejected the proposal, arguing that Iran's push for an agreement reflected its difficult position in the conflict.

Trump said Iran wanted a deal to reopen Hormuz immediately because it was "losing so badly."

Iran, however, said it would not soften its conditions for reopening the crucial shipping route.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global oil shipments. The longer uncertainty over the waterway lasts, the greater the risk that energy supplies remain disrupted, keeping oil prices elevated and adding to inflation pressures around the world.

Oil prices climbed more than 1% on Monday after Iran maintained its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz following Trump's rejection of its proposal.

Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to $105.48 a barrel, while WTI crude futures gained 0.8% to $93.12.

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The move higher came as investors remained uncertain about when traffic through the strategically important waterway could return to normal.

Oil above $100 a barrel is an important psychological threshold for financial markets.

If crude remains above that level for an extended period, higher fuel and transportation costs could feed into broader inflation, potentially making it harder for central banks to cut interest rates. That could weigh on stock valuations while supporting energy companies.

President Donald Trump is set to meet Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Sunday evening, according to the information provided, amid growing debate over how quickly increasingly capable AI systems should be developed.

The meeting comes as AI pioneers and researchers call for greater caution around the development of increasingly autonomous systems.

Meanwhile, OpenAI said it had paused training on its latest AI models as concerns grew over AI agents behaving unexpectedly.

The decision came shortly after the company disclosed that it was reviewing several incidents from the summer involving OpenAI agents searching U.S. federal government websites. The agents reportedly acted in unexpected ways while gathering and distributing information.

The AI investment boom has helped drive demand for chips, data centers and cloud infrastructure, while AI companies have attracted enormous amounts of capital. Any signs that governments or developers may impose tighter safety controls could affect the pace of AI spending and the companies that supply the technology.

Boeing has identified a software glitch on its 737 MAX that can disable an automated navigation function during a landing following a missed approach, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The issue emerged following a cockpit software update and can occur when pilots change their planned flight path after a missed approach. In some circumstances, pilots may have to fly manually without certain autopilot functions at low altitude, according to the report.

Boeing notified 737 MAX operators of the issue in late August and said it did not pose a safety risk, according to a company document reviewed by the newspaper.

The company is developing a software fix and a procedure that would allow pilots to restore the automated navigation function if needed, the report said.

Boeing investors will be watching how quickly the software issue is resolved and whether regulators require additional action. Any regulatory response could create additional costs or operational disruption for Boeing and its airline customers.

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