Futures options traders work at the NYSE American (AMEX) of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, USA, September 8, 2026. Brendan McDermid | ReutersStock futures fell early on Monday as investors monitored a major shake-up in the artificial intelligence initial public offering process amid growing security concerns, along with the latest moves in oil. S&P 500 futures lost 0.5%, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 1.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 50 points, or 0.1%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1%, while the Topix gained 0.59%. The Kospi fell 2.51%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.93%. The Australian benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was stable. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.35%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 0.32%. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an interview published Saturday that the AI startup will not go public this year. Altman said an initial public offering for the ChatGPT maker would now be “ill-advised,” just a month after OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said it would go public no later than 2027. Dario Amodei, chief executive of rival Anthropic, said in an essay on Saturday that AI companies must slow the pace of innovation for their best models because of security risks. Amodei told CBS News on Sunday that the “most difficult dilemma” about such a proposal is what would happen if China didn’t do the same. The rise of AI has propelled the stock market to new heights and catalyzed a massive wave of corporate spending on technology infrastructure in recent years. However, this weekend’s developments could indicate that the size of the positive impact expected for the public market through greater efficiency and a series of major IPOs could be less clear than previously believed. Eyes on oil Oil prices rose more than 2% Sunday night after Saudi Arabia shut down a key pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel last week for the first time since May amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East. Last week’s rally in oil prices dragged down all three major stock averages. The Dow Jones fell 1.6%, marking its biggest weekly loss since March. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. The Federal Reserve meets this week for its September monetary policy meeting. Federal Reserve fund futures traders are pricing in a roughly 86% chance of a rate hike, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. “Investors’ playbook from now on depends on whether Fed hikes or long-term rates are the dominant driver of the current tighter rate environment,” said Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investment Management. No earnings reports or major economic releases are expected on Monday.
