U.S. stock futures fell Tuesday morning as investors prepared for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday and monitored the fallout from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s essay on fears about AI safety. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) led the decline, falling 0.6%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) fell 0.7%. Oil prices remained stable, with Brent crude (BZ=F) and WTI crude (CL=F) changing hands at $102 and $103 per barrel, respectively. Prices have remained elevated since Saudi Arabia shut down its East-West pipeline and the Iran-backed Houthis launched new attacks in the Middle East. Bond yields have also spiked as investors await the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision. On Monday, the 10-year Treasury yield briefly hit 5%, its highest intraday level since 2023. While the 10-year yield eventually turned lower, it underscored rising borrowing costs amid concerns about government spending and inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to begin its September meeting on Tuesday, and traders overwhelmingly expect a rate hike. The release of the so-called dot plot, along with Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s press conference, could offer investors clues about the prevailing winds in the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. There is little economic data and earnings releases, with Forgent Power Solutions (FPS) and Vera Bradley (VRA) reporting results. LIVE 3 Updates Here’s where the biggest tech names stand on the slowdown in AI development Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley reports: Controversy rocked the tech industry on Monday after bosses at some of the biggest AI companies called for speeding up the development of cutting-edge AI models. The uproar began after Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) CEO Dario Amodei published a lengthy essay on Saturday saying that AI labs must take steps to prevent the technology from causing harm, including slowing the creation of increasingly powerful models and calling on the government to regulate the industry overall. Amodei’s essay quickly provoked responses from heavyweights in both the technological and political landscapes. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: Agrees with Amodei OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) CEO Sam Altman wrote in a Saturday post on SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: Agrees with AmodeiSpaceX (SPCX) Elon Musk also weighed in, writing about X: “Dario is right” and adding that he’s been warning about the dangers of AI for years. He also responded to a user’s post by saying that he is open to AI companies reviewing each other’s AI models. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: Says extinction fears are made up. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang commented on Amodei’s essay and prediction that the technology would kill all humans during an appearance at All In Summit, saying that while safety is important to consider, the idea that AI will lead to human extinction is fiction. Microsoft: Releases AI Code of ConductAlso On Monday, Microsoft (MSFT) released a draft code of conduct for developing what it calls humanistic AI. The company said the general directive driving the code of conduct is “that humans must maintain meaningful control over AI so that it can help people live healthier, happier and more productive lives.” Read more. Good day. This is what is happening today. Asian stocks falter as oil, yields rise ahead of Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings. Reuters Reports: Asian shares struggled on Tuesday as investors weighed tensions in the Middle East and calls from industry figures for a slowdown in the development of artificial intelligence, while elevated oil prices and higher bond yields added to caution ahead of key central bank meetings in the US and Japan. an attack on the kingdom’s east-west pipeline that he said could disrupt up to 4% of the world’s oil supply. Arab Gulf states also postponed planned talks with Iran. Renewed supply concerns kept markets on edge, with US crude rising 1.27% to $102.68 a barrel, while Brent rose 1.21% to $106.96 a barrel. UFJ Bank, in note. Read more.
