U.S. stocks opened lower, with the Dow declining and selling spreading across semiconductor and AI-related stocks. Rising crude oil prices are also weighing on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower in New York trading, standing at $52,409.00 as of 9:35 a.m., down $164.29 from the previous Friday. By sector, selling has spread mainly across semiconductor and AI-related stocks. Rising crude oil futures are also weighing on market sentiment.
Among Dow components, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell Technologies and Cisco Systems fell, while Johnson & Johnson rose. Apollo Global Management was among the stocks in focus amid negotiations to sell its orthopedic-device business. The Nasdaq also opened lower, with selling hitting semiconductor stocks such as Marvell Technology and Intel, as well as AI-related stocks including Nebius and CoreWeave.
In the U.S. market, developments concerning the safety of AI development and tighter regulation were reported. A blog post by Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, calling for a slowdown in development was reported. OpenAI CEO Altman indicated that the company would prioritize AI safety measures and said it did not intend to pursue an IPO this year. This has fueled growing views that expectations for expanding demand for AI infrastructure investment are receding.
Front-month WTI briefly rose to the upper $104 range, while geopolitical risks in the crude oil market are weighing on investor sentiment. In the U.S. bond market, the long-term interest rate rose close to 5.00%, reaching its highest level since October 2023. Overall, while the Dow continued to decline, some stocks, including McDonald's, showed gains.