US Stock Futures Fall as Oil Prices Rise and AI Anxiety Grows
US stock index futures declined on Tuesday as rising oil prices and Treasury yields combined with growing anxiety over AI development to deter investors.
The tech sector bore the brunt of the losses, with Alphabet and Microsoft down around 1% each in premarket trading. Chipmakers, which had taken a hit on Monday, traded within a narrow range, while Nvidia rose marginally.
The latest bout of AI anxiety was sparked by calls from top companies to slow or halt AI development due to safety concerns. While the exact implications are unclear, the downturn has added to market uncertainty at a time when above-target inflation and higher borrowing costs are already weighing on equities.
'I think this is more likely a hiccup than the end of the AI trade,' said Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments. 'The AI genie isn't going back in the bottle.'