US stocks closed lower on Monday after leaders of the biggest artificial-intelligence companies used the weekend to call for a slowdown in AI development, rattling the chipmakers that have powered much of the market’s advance this year. A jump in oil prices and a climb in Treasury yields added to the pressure, leaving all three major indexes in the red as investors turned cautious ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
What Moved Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.01 points, or 0.29%, to close at 52,421.28. The S&P 500 slipped 37.00 points, or 0.48%, to finish at 7,619.98. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 146.62 points, or 0.56%, to end at 26,186.41, recovering from a decline of as much as 1.5% earlier in the session as gains in some large-cap technology names offset the slide in semiconductors.
The main catalyst was a weekend essay from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei arguing that AI companies should pull back on advancing their most powerful models because of safety risks. His view was echoed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk, and the combined message triggered a global selloff in chip and AI-infrastructure stocks. At the same time, a rally in oil lifted the 10-year Treasury yield briefly above 5% for the first time since 2023. Higher yields raise borrowing costs and tend to weigh most heavily on richly valued growth stocks, compounding the day’s weakness in technology.
Notable Movers
Intel (INTC) was among the hardest hit, falling roughly 7% as the call for slower AI development hit sentiment across the entire chip supply chain, not just the memory names.
Marvell Technology (MRVL) also dropped about 7%, pressured by worries that a slower AI buildout could cool demand for the custom silicon and networking chips it sells to data-center customers.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) sank close to 6%, giving back recent gains as investors trimmed exposure to the AI-accelerator trade.
Broadcom (AVGO) fell around 4%, weighed down both by the sector selloff and by fresh analyst concern over the heavy debt load tied to AI infrastructure spending.
Nvidia (NVDA) slid about 3%, a smaller move than its peers but still a drag on the major indexes given the company’s enormous market weight.
Looking Ahead
Attention now shifts to the Federal Reserve, which begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and announces its decision on Wednesday. After recent data pointed to firmer inflation, many investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023, a move that would reinforce the higher-yield backdrop that pressured stocks on Monday. Traders will parse the accompanying statement and the Fed chair’s comments for clues on the path ahead. Beyond the Fed, this week brings several housing market updates, and the debate over the pace of AI investment is likely to keep semiconductor shares volatile. Retail investors may want to watch whether the rotation out of chips and into more defensive corners of technology, such as cybersecurity and enterprise software, has staying power or proves short-lived.