US stock futures fell sharply on Monday as warnings from top artificial-intelligence executives collided with a jump in oil prices and growing caution ahead of this week's Federal Reserve policy decision. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped roughly 542 points, or 1.8%, S&P 500 futures lost about 0.7%, and Dow futures slipped around 114 points, or 0.2%.
The selloff was triggered after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a 3,800-word essay over the weekend urging AI companies to slow frontier-model development over safety concerns. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly agreed, stating in an interview that 'Dario is right,' while Elon Musk echoed support on X. The rare alignment unsettled investors who have priced in rapid AI capital spending. Nvidia fell more than 2% premarket, while Intel, Micron and Marvell lost roughly 4% to 5%. In Asia, Samsung and SK Hynix also declined.
Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid said the key question for markets is whether this is the first sign that the extraordinary AI investment cycle might eventually moderate. Some rotation emerged within tech: ServiceNow and Atlassian gained about 3.5%, while Workday and Adobe rose close to 3%, as traders shifted toward enterprise software and away from AI hardware.
Oil added another source of pressure after Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline following a drone attack. Brent crude traded near $108 per barrel, up about 3%, while West Texas Intermediate climbed to around $102.67. The 10-year US Treasury yield held near 4.97%, just below the psychologically important 5% level, keeping pressure on richly valued growth shares.
IPO uncertainty also weighed on sentiment. Altman told Fortune that OpenAI may delay its IPO to 2027, while Anthropic still plans to list on Nasdaq this fall. Investors now turn to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Wednesday. Markets are pricing in roughly an 86% to 87% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike after a hot inflation report. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has said he will not provide forward guidance, adding to uncertainty.
For digital assets, the combination of higher yields, oil-driven inflation concerns and a risk-off move in equities creates a challenging macro backdrop. Bitcoin and Ethereum may face short-term pressure as crypto markets remain sensitive to tightening financial conditions and tech-led risk sentiment.
