Nvidia stock fell 2% in premarket trading Monday as AI safety concerns rattled global tech markets. Shares of Broadcom, Intel, and Marvell Technology dropped 3%, 5%, and 7%, respectively, after leaders of major artificial intelligence companies over the weekend called for a slowdown in AI development.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay Saturday contending that AI companies must pull back on advancing their most powerful models, citing the safety dangers such systems pose. Amodei told CBS News on Sunday that the thorniest obstacle to such a proposal is uncertainty over whether China would participate. Other prominent tech figures backed the proposal, according to CNBC.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a Saturday interview that an IPO this year would be “ill-advised,” adding to uncertainty around the AI sector’s near-term trajectory, according to CNBC.
Nasdaq-100 futures were down 1.5% ahead of the open, with S&P 500 futures off 0.6% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shedding 114 points, or 0.2%. Among Asian markets, the Kospi in South Korea retreated 3.26% and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 finished the session down 0.81%. Europe’s pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down about 0.3%.
Markets are also contending with rising oil prices. WTI crude futures climbed 3% to trade above $103 a barrel, with Brent futures also rising past $108, following Saudi Arabia’s decision to shut a pipeline that had been a critical conduit for crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz region. The closure followed drone strikes by Iran-aligned militants in Iraq, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Last week marked the first time since May that U.S. crude prices climbed past the $100-per-barrel threshold. The surge in crude last week pressed down on all three major indexes, with the Dow surrendering 1.6% for its worst weekly result since March; the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each gave back roughly 0.8% and 0.7%.
Energy stocks were an exception to the broader decline. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.7%, with BP and Shell providing the primary boost.
The Federal Reserve opens its September policy meeting this week, with fed funds futures markets assigning about an 86% chance to a rate increase.