Stock Market Midday, Sept. 14: Tech Stocks Slide on Dire AI Warnings, Micron Drops 5%

As of 11:38 AM ET, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) is down 0.44% to 7,623, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) has fallen 0.44% to 26,217 as cooling artificial intelligence sentiment weighs on growth stocks, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) is trading 0.36% lower to 52,422.

Gold is down 1.88% to $4,325.10, and the 10-Year Treasury yield has slipped 0.02% to 4.96%, after reaching 5% for the first time since 2023. Communication stocks and healthcare are leading sector gains, while basic materials and industrials are underperforming.

Today's biggest moves

Meta Platforms is climbing today after Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating, stressing the potential upside from its Muse AI agent. Micron Technology tumbled over 5% following warnings about the risks of rapid AI development. Those same concerns drove gains in cybersecurity stocks -- CrowdStrike Holdings soared 15%.

What this means for investors

Tech leaders have issued dire warnings about the risks of rapid artificial intelligence (AI) development in recent days, prompting an industrywide pullback. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman both highlighted the dangers that advanced systems could quickly move beyond human control and called for a slower pace of development.

Investors fear any slowdown could impact demand for AI infrastructure, pressuring some of this year's outperformers, such as Marvell Technology, CoreWeave, and Intel. Those worries are understandable, but it is important think about how any controls on AI development might impact long-term growth. Near-term sentiment may slip, but AI isn't going to disappear, and there is a chance that a slower build-out could actually strengthen the industry in the long term.

Emma Newbery has positions in CrowdStrike and Marvell Technology. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CrowdStrike, Goldman Sachs Group, Intel, Lam Research, Marvell Technology, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, and Vertiv. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.