Stock futures fell Sunday night as investors monitored a major shakeup in the pipeline for artificial intelligence initial public offerings amid growing safety concerns, along with the latest oil moves.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 179 points points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.6%, while Nasdaq-100 futures tumbled 1.2%.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an interview published on Saturday that the AI startup would not go public this year. Altman said an IPO for the ChatGPT maker would now would be "ill-advised," just one month after OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said it would go public by 2027 at the latest.
Dario Amodei, CEO of rival Anthropic, said in an essay on Saturday that AI companies need to slow the pace of innovation for their best models due to safety risks. Amodei told CBS News on Sunday that the "toughest dilemma" about such a proposal is what would happen if China did not do the same.
The AI boom has propelled the stock market to new heights and catalyzed a massive wave of corporate spending on technological infrastructure in recent years. However, this weekend's developments could indicate that the size of the positive impact to the public market expected through increased efficiency and a string of major IPOs could be less clear than previously believed.
Eyes on oil
Oil prices rose more than 2% Sunday night after Saudi Arabia shuttered a key pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude prices broke above $100 per barrel last week for the first time since May amid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
Last week's rally in oil prices dragged on the three major stock averages. The Dow slid 1.6%, marking its biggest weekly loss since March. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite shed about 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
The Federal Reserve gathers for its September policy meeting this week. Fed funds futures traders are pricing in a roughly 86% likelihood of a rate hike, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
"The investor playbook from here depends on whether Fed hikes or long rates are the dominant driver of today's tighter rates environment," said Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investment Management.
There are no major earnings reports or economic releases expected on Monday.
44 Min AgoStocks are coming off a losing week
The stock market faced a pullback last week.
The Dow slid 1.6% last week, marking its largest weekly decline since March. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
— Alex Harring
52 Min AgoLawmakers consider calls to slow AI advancement
Washington is scrambling to address renewed fears over artificial intelligence, as leading U.S. companies sound the alarm over technology they say is advancing beyond their control.
"Dr. Frankenstein is telling us the monster is escaping; help us stop this," said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "The method that we're answering [with] is not meeting the moment."
The push for action on AI safeguards comes after a researcher resigned from Anthropic and warned that the technology could "kill us all by the end of the decade." Stunning pledges to slow development from the leaders of top AI frontier companies Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI followed the warning, and calls for lawmakers to act toward regulating the industry came soon after.
— Garrett Downs
58 Min AgoOil prices rise
Crude oil prices jumped Sunday night after Saudi Arabia closed a critical pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz passageway.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures added 2.3% to $102.38 per barrel shortly after 6 p.m. ET. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 2.3% to $107.02 per barrel.
— Spencer Kimball, Alex Harring
1 Hour AgoStock futures are sliding
Stock futures are down shortly after 6 p.m. ET Sunday night.
Dow futures lost about 180 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
— Alex Harring
Dow rises 500 points to snap 4-day slide as oil cools, traders look past inflation report: Live updatesDow tumbles 300 points to notch 4-day drop as Treasury yields and oil prices surgeDow tumbles 400 points, posting 3-day slide as rates jump and Brent crude tops $101Read More
