Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq mixed as oil retreats, Anthropic and OpenAI fuel AI jitters
US stocks were mixed as a leaked Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) IPO prospectus and scrapped OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) next-generation model raised more questions about AI safety, while geopolitical tensions continued to support higher oil and bond prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) remained little changed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose about 0.2%.
AMD (AMD) stock rose after the Lisa Su-led company acquired Fei-Fei Li's AI model startup World Labs for $8.2 billion in a deal viewed as a talent and AI insights play.
News of that acquisition was soon eclipsed by a Reuters report detailing a leaked Anthropic IPO prospectus, revealing that the AI lab is targeting a $2 trillion valuation — more than double its estimated valuation of $965 billion — along with warnings that AI could pose "existential risks to humanity." Anthropic has not yet made an official filing public.
The same evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that rival startup OpenAI shelved its frontier AI model due to safety concerns that emerged during internal testing. That came after OpenAI disclosed further agentic AI breaches over the weekend, fueling AI safety concerns.
A group of tech executives, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, is scheduled to dine with President Trump at a White House luncheon on Tuesday afternoon amid the growing unease over AI risks to the public.
Much of the AI boom is riding on when Anthropic and eventually OpenAI make their public debuts. Earlier Tuesday, investors got a fresh IPOs market conditions aren't improving as bond yields surge. Health tech startup Oura has shelved its planned IPO for today, "due to uncertainty."
Oil prices, meanwhile, slipped as Saudi Arabia resumed exports through its East-West pipeline and US and Iranian officials met with mediators to resume disjointed talks. Brent crude oil futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, hovered near $96 per barrel, while WTI crude futures (CL=F) traded at $91 per barrel.
Economic data released Tuesday morning offered a more dour outlook on the US economy ahead of Friday's jobs report, as data showed a decline in job openings in August while consumer confidence levels fell in September.
In the labor market, job openings fell to 7.097 million in August, falling below economist ' expectations of 7.228 million openings and the previous month's revised total of 7.335 million. Throughout the broader economy, The Conference Board's consumer confidence index came in at 81.9 for September compared to expectations of a sharply higher reading of 89, while readings on present situation and expectations also fell.
CarMax (KMX) stock popped after the used auto dealer reported strong top- and bottom-line results.