U.S. stock index futures declined early Monday, with the Dow futures contract down 150 points (0.3%), the S&P 500 futures off 63 points (0.8%) and the Nasdaq 100 futures lower by 531 points (1.8%) as of 05:52 ET / 09:52 GMT. The moves followed a weekend essay by Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, urging caution on AI progress, and a disclosure last week that Anthropic’s Claude models had been used for activities ranging from weapons development to fraud. Sam Altman of OpenAI said the firm would not pursue a possible public offering this year due to safety concerns, and analyst firm Vital Knowledge told clients that stocks were under assault from both oil and AI pressures.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also weighed on markets. Fresh fighting began in late February 2026, threatening the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows. Oman’s foreign minister said a planned regional meeting to ease oil shipping worries was delayed in the interests of consensus, while a scheduled Gulf powers‑Iran encounter was postponed. Iran‑backed Houthi militants in Yemen struck a critical Saudi oil pipeline, causing its closure.
Brent crude futures briefly surpassed $108 a barrel, with trading data showing a price of $109.39, up 4.57%. The rise came after elevated U.S. consumer and producer inflation readings in August, which were largely driven by higher energy prices. Market attention is now turning to a much‑anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate decision scheduled for Wednesday.
