Stock futures slid on Monday morning as several major stories collided across markets and policy circles, CNBC reported. A
This comes after mounting anxieties regarding a potential deceleration in artificial intelligence advancements compounded burdens on technology equities, prompting a decline across Asian markets. Simultaneously, crude values exceeding $100 per barrel elevated fears of stricter monetary approaches.
Artificial intelligence executives made significant business and policy moves over the weekend, even as investors watched a losing week give way to a lower open for the three major averages.
The global slump in technology equities was underscored by Nasdaq-100 futures dropping over 1.5%. AI-centric firms took a severe hit in pre-market activity, with CoreWeave shedding almost 8% and Nvidia losing 3%. These market movements followed a weekend plea by three prominent AI industry leaders to pump the brakes on the technology's rapid evolution. According to The Wall Street Journal, this unprecedented call to action left traders wondering if the appetite for memory chips and AI services would soon diminish. Semiconductor businesses and data-center operators emerged as the primary victims of the sell-off.
The U.S. stocks' downward trend came just hours after Asia started off the week with a selloff. Korea's KOSPI absorbed the heaviest blow, plunging 3.3%. Japan's Nikkei 225 recorded a more modest 0.6% decline, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng bucked the regional trend by securing a 0.2% gain.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on September 09, 2026 in New York City. Stocks fell again in early trading on Sept. 9, 2026, as high oil prices continue to worry investors (SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei ignited fresh debate over AI safety after writing in a weekend essay that companies developing artificial intelligence should "slow the pace" of improving their models, CNBC noted. Amodei outlined a three-step plan designed to slow development "without sacrificing commercial advantage or the United States' lead in AI," and told CBS News that the "toughest dilemma" would arise if China declined to slow its own AI progress in parallel.
OpenAI chief Sam Altman and Elon Musk both backed Amodei's proposal within days, a rare moment of alignment among the three competitors, according to CNBC's Ashley Capoot and Kate Rooney. Altman separately ruled out taking ChatGPT-maker OpenAI public this year, telling reporters that a public listing right now would be "ill-advised." Meanwhile, a group of Democratic lawmakers pressed House Speaker Mike Johnson to keep the chamber in session until AI safeguards are passed, as Nasdaq 100 futures dropped more than 1% on the news.
Meanwhile, crude prices climbed after Saudi Arabia shut down a key pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, blaming damage from drones launched out of Iraq, CNBC reported. Riyadh has not disclosed the extent of the damage or how long the shutdown will last. The East-West pipeline, capable of moving 7 million barrels of oil daily, had been easing supply pressure created by the Iran war, and a Monday diplomatic meeting on Hormuz between Iran and Gulf Arab states was postponed following the strike. Both West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures jumped more than 3% Monday morning, extending a rally that pushed US crude above $100 a barrel last week for the first time since May.
Following drone attacks executed by Iran-aligned terrorists based in Iraq, the pipeline closure drove Brent crude from $104 up to $107 a barrel. Market forecasters warned The Wall Street Journal that a prolonged disruption would likely force the international benchmark to even higher levels.
