AI Slowdown Fears, Rising Crude Send Stock Futures Lower

Stock futures are sharply lower to start the week, as weakness in AI stocks and another jump in oil prices weigh on Wall Street. Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are down over 500 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is off more than 230 points, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) sits firmly in the red.

Chip stocks are under pressure after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for AI companies to slow the development of their most advanced models, with other industry leaders backing the proposal. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is up 3% and above $103 per barrel after Saudi Arabia shut down a key pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are also looking ahead to this week's Federal Reserve meeting, with CME's FedWatch tool pricing in an 88% chance of a rate hike.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• 3 stocks to watch this week. 
• Check out our new deal with Schaeffer's Event Trader. 
• Plus, three stocks moving after earnings. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Option Exchange saw roughly 2.9 million call contracts and 1.7 million put contracts traded on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.59. 
2. Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) is down 6.6% premarket, falling alongside other chip stocks after Amodei's call for an AI slowdown. Coming into today, INTC is up 179% year-to-date. 
3. The warning from Amodei is lifting cybersecurity stocks, however, with Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) up 5.1% in electronic trading. PANW is enjoying a 79.5% lead in 2026, with reliable support seen at the $320 floor since late June.
4. Fintech giant Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFRM) is 2.1% higher before the bell, looking to halve its year-to-date deficit of 4%. This morning's price action comes after an upgrade from Wolfe Research to "outperform" from "peer perform," with a price target of $90. 
5. Housing data is due out this week alongside the highly anticipated interest rate decision. 

Tech Lower Overseas As Well

Concerns surrounding AI safety pressured tech stocks and the broader Asian market lower to start the week. On the economic front, Chinese bank loans saw a return to positive market value for August, extending borrowing to 60 billion yuan or $8.95 billion. However, the reading did miss analyst estimates following July’s record contraction. The Shanghai Composite moved 0.07% lower in response. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.3%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend with a 0.5% rise.

European stocks are faring no better, trending lower as crude prices resume their run higher. The pound and sterling both fell to a more than four-week bottom, driven by a rising U.S. dollar. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.5% as the only winner, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 sport losses of 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.