Fresh turbulence has hit global equity markets, with semiconductor shares suffering steep losses after several prominent artificial intelligence executives called for a slowdown in AI development, while elevated oil prices added further pressure on sentiment. Chip stocks across the US, Europe, and Asia came under widespread selling pressure, with an index tracking heavyweights such as Nvidia and Broadcom sliding 5%. Meanwhile, signs of rotation emerged within the market, as roughly 300 S&P 500 components managed to post gains.

Brent crude, though off its session highs, continued to hover near $105 per barrel, stoking inflation concerns ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield briefly broke above 5%.

Adding to the bearish tone, Anthropic PBC chief executive Dario Amodei published a lengthy 3,800-word essay, which received backing from OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and SpaceXAI chief executive Elon Musk. The essay argues that development of the most advanced AI systems must be slowed to prevent AI from slipping beyond human control and causing catastrophic harm. In a similar vein, Microsoft's AI researchers released a new set of guidelines restricting the company's pursuit of cutting-edge AI models. The 15,000-word manifesto boils down to a simple premise: humans matter more than AI.

President Donald Trump pushed back against Amodei's call to decelerate AI progress, underscoring his opposition to adding new restrictions on the technology. He attributed voter resistance to AI data centers and growing unease over frontier AI models to a "sick conspiracy," adding that "the only ones happy about it are China."

Data compiled by Baird Strategas reveals that since the S&P 500 bottomed out in late March, investors have poured a massive $52 billion into technology-sector exchange-traded funds, compared with just $4 billion flowing into other areas of the equity market. Giuseppe Sette of Reflexivity commented, "What exactly is happening? Something significant must have occurred to frighten Dario, Sam, and Elon into such a rare consensus. Whatever it is, it was likely stopped at the last moment before a catastrophe. Still, given the competitive race, we don't foresee any major slowdown in AI development." Sette added, "As for any pullback in AI stocks, that merely represents a buying opportunity."