Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Fall After OpenAI, Anthropic’s Appeals Rattle AI Trade — NVDA, MU, SNDK, ORCL, TSLA In Focus

U.S. stocks look set for a negative open on Monday, with futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite declining after closing in the green on Friday.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Sunday expressed significant concerns over China’s role in the global AI landscape, while describing the country as the "toughest dilemma" in his proposal to decelerate AI progress.

Amodei published an essay on Saturday urging AI companies to slow advancements, following warnings from researchers about potential catastrophic risks. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed support for Amodei’s essay, emphasizing the need to "pace the frontier." He said OpenAI has also decided to delay its IPO plans for 2026 due to unresolved safety concerns and alignment challenges.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.963%, and the 30-year bond was at 5.35%, while the two-year yields stood at 4.626%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing in an 88.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking the current interest rates during its September meeting.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.21%
S&P 500	-0.72%
Nasdaq 100	-1.77%
Russell 2000	-0.39%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 0.67% at $759.05, while the QQQ declined 1.7% to $702.75.

See Also: Dan Ives Says China is Not Slowing Down Anytime Soon Despite Anthropic’s Dario Amodei Warning of Rogue AI Seizing Internet Within Months

Stocks In Focus

Nvidia

• Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) is said to be in talks to invest in Anthropic’s upcoming IPO. The chipmaker is reportedly considering investing up to $10 billion as an anchor investor. Nvidia shares were down 2.85% in Monday’s pre-market trade.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NVDA maintains a strong price trend in the long and medium terms, with a good quality score.

Micron Technology

• Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares are in focus on Monday after OpenAI and Anthropic called for slowing down the pace of AI development. Micron shares were down 5.04% pre-market.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MU maintains a strong price trend in the long and medium term, with a good quality score.

Sandisk

• Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) declined 5.41% pre-market after comments from Altman and Amodei, apart from others like Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, over the weekend rattled investors, impacting the AI trade ahead of the opening bell.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SNDK maintains a strong price trend in the long and medium terms, with a good momentum score.

Sandisk

• Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) co-founder Larry Ellison has scrapped a plan to sell up to 50 million shares of the cloud computing giant, worth about $7.5 billion based on the previous closing price of the company’s shares. Oracle shares were down 3.58% pre-market.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ORCL maintains a weak price trend in the long and medium terms, with a good growth score.

Tesla

• Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is set to unveil the long-awaited Roadster on Oct. 1, almost a decade after the company first announced the next-generation sports car. Tesla shares were down 2.12% in the pre-market session.
• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSLA maintains a weak price trend in the long and medium term and a strong price trend in the short term.

Cues From Last Session

Most S&P 500 sectors ended Friday in negative territory, with communication services, information technology and consumer discretionary stocks posting the steepest declines. Utilities and health care were the only sectors to buck the broader market trend, closing the session higher.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Dow Jones	0.98%	52,573.29
S&P 500	0.86%	7,656.98
Nasdaq Composite	0.96%	26,333.04
Russell 2000	0.45%	2,903.94

Insights From Analysts

Analysts at Schwab Center for Financial Research said in a note on Monday that despite modest pullbacks in oil prices and Treasury yields on Friday, both remain at levels that could weigh on the Federal Reserve and equities.

The firm added that elevated borrowing costs can curb economic activity and pressure future earnings growth. U.S. crude also topped $100 a barrel last week for the first time since May, adding to cost pressures for consumers and businesses.

See Also: Trump Suggests US Could Remain in Iran to Control Oil Reserves Like With Venezuela, Predicts Gas Prices Will ‘Drop Like a Rock’ Once War Ends: Report

Technically, the S&P 500’s 50-day moving average near 7,600 could remain a key pivot point in the days ahead, according to SCFR. Despite last week’s struggles, the index remains roughly 2% below the all-time high reached last month.

The firm stated in its note that support could emerge near 7,490, a level where the index traded in late July before rallying on strong earnings from the Magnificent Seven. Some of Friday’s strength may have reflected the S&P 500’s ability to defend the 7,600 level earlier in the week, SCFR noted.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on this week:

• No data is scheduled to be released on Monday.
• On Tuesday, the Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day meeting will commence, with all eyes on the FOMC’s policy direction. Data from the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for the month of September is also scheduled to be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• On Wednesday, the FOMC’s rate decision is scheduled to be announced by 2 p.m. ET.
• On Thursday, initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 12, August’s pending home sales, and housing starts will be announced.
• On Friday, industrial production data for the month of August will be released by 9:15 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 2.82% to hover around $102.87 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 1.45% to hover around $4,285.97 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.43% higher at the 99.55 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.41% higher at $77,777.81 per coin over the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed mixed on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices rising, while South Korea’s Kospi and China’s CSI 300 declined. Australia’s ASX 200 index closed in the green, while the European markets were mixed in early trading.

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