Overnight US Stocks | Three Major Indices Closed Lower, AI Giants Jointly Call for Slowing Development, Concept Stocks Plunge Across the Board

According to news from Zhitong Finance APP, on Monday, the three major U.S. indices closed lower, and AI-related stocks plummeted across the board. American AI giant OpenAI abruptly pressed the "IPO pause button." The company's CEO, Sam Altman, stated that OpenAI will not conduct an initial public offering in 2026. He pointed out that given the many ongoing developments regarding AI safety, now is not an appropriate time to go public. Meanwhile, the three major U.S. AI giants—Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX AI—rarely joined forces to collectively call for slowing down AI development.

[U.S. Stocks] At market close, the Dow Jones Index fell by 152.01 points, or 0.29%, to 52,421.28 points; the S&P 500 Index lost 37.03 points, or 0.48%, to 7,619.95 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index declined by 146.62 points, or 0.56%, to 26,186.41 points. SK Hynix (SKHY.US) dropped 7.6%, Meta (META.US) gained 2.7%, ASML (ASML.US) fell 7.2%, Intel (INTC.US) and Micron Technology (MU.US) both dropped more than 5%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed up 0.36%, with NetEase (NTES.US) up 2%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX30 Index lost 110.75 points, or 0.43%, to 25,446.41 points; the UK FTSE 100 Index added 50.97 points, or 0.48%, to 10,701.41 points; the French CAC40 Index fell 61.99 points, or 0.76%, to 8,117.78 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 Index retreated 59.88 points, or 0.95%, to 6,265.25 points; Spain's IBEX35 Index lost 265.19 points, or 1.34%, to 19,573.31 points; and Italy's FTSE MIB Index lost 838.53 points, or 1.60%, to 51,673.50 points.

[Asian Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.81%, and the KOSPI Index dropped 3.26%.

[U.S. Dollar Index] The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the USD against six major currencies, rose by 0.27% for the day, closing at 99.388 in late forex trading. By the close of the New York forex market, 1 euro exchanged for 1.1557 dollars, down from 1.1596 dollars in the previous session; 1 pound exchanged for 1.3511 dollars, lower than the previous session’s 1.3525 dollars. 1 dollar exchanged for 154.05 Japanese yen, up from 153.72 yen; 1 dollar exchanged for 0.8163 Swiss francs, down from 0.8166 Swiss francs; 1 dollar exchanged for 1.3902 Canadian dollars, up from 1.3865 Canadian dollars; and 1 dollar exchanged for 9.7412 Swedish kronor, up from 9.7044 kronor.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose nearly 3%, quoted at 78,955 yuan at press time; Ethereum gained more than 3%, quoted at 2,558 US dollars.

[Crude Oil] The price of light crude oil futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.34, settling at $101.39 per barrel, up 1.34%; November delivery of Brent crude oil futures in London gained $1.07 to close at $105.68 per barrel, up 1.02%.

[Precious Metals] Spot gold dropped more than 1% to $4,298.77 per ounce; spot silver edged up 0.03% to $63.24 per ounce.

[Macro News]

BofA Strategist Raises S&P 500 Year-End Target but Still Cautions on Rate Risks. Bank of America equity strategist Savita Subramanian raised her S&P 500 target. Previously one of Wall Street’s most bearish stock strategists, she had set the lowest target among market analysts, but she still warns the index remains vulnerable to interest rate risk. Subramanian increased her year-end S&P 500 forecast from 7,100 to 7,400 points. The new target indicates a 3.4% decline from last Friday’s closing level. According to a compilation of forecasts from more than 20 strategists for S&P 500 levels at end-2026, her outlook remains one of the most pessimistic on Wall Street. She predicts the S&P 500 will reach 7,800 points in the next 12 months, representing a rise of only about 2% from the most recent close. On Monday, Subramanian said: "We are entering a seasonally weak period, and in our view, the market pullback has been delayed for too long."

10-Year US Treasury Yield Hits Key 5% Level Ahead of Fed Decision. On the eve of this week’s Fed meeting, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield on Monday rose to the key psychological level of 5%, its first time in nearly three years. The market widely expects the Federal Reserve will hike rates to curb inflation. Data last Friday showed U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August, strengthening expectations the Fed would raise rates to control inflation. Tom di Galoma, managing director at Mischler Financial Group, said this “may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” Over the past month, yields have risen further amid expectations of rate hikes, increasing corporate and government debt supply, optimism about economic growth, and concerns regarding the US long-term fiscal path. Galoma stated: “Our budget, deficit, and overall debt structure remain on an expansionary path.” Going forward, whether the 10-year yield can stabilize above the 5% threshold will be a critical test for whether the economy and stock market can withstand higher interest rates.

Fed Pauses US Treasury Reserve Management Purchases for Second Consecutive Month. The Federal Reserve said Monday it will not purchase U.S. Treasury securities for reserve management for a second straight month in the upcoming cycle, reflecting policymakers’ view that current bank reserve levels in the financial system are appropriate. The New York Fed’s open market operations desk plans not to conduct reserve management purchases in the monthly cycle ending October 14. However, the desk still plans about $15.6 billion in reinvestment purchases during the same period. The Fed’s decision to pause reserve management purchases indicates confidence in the functioning of money markets. This is also reflected in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), which has mostly stayed near or below the Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) over the past month. Meanwhile, the Treasury also reduced bill supply before the quarterly tax deadline. This change does not indicate a shift in Fed monetary policy or balance sheet strategy.

U.S. Media: Trump Held Private Meeting with Altman, AI Safety Differences Emerge. According to reports, three people familiar with the matter disclosed that last Thursday, U.S. President Trump privately met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backstage at the Republican National Convention. Just days before the meeting, a former OpenAI researcher publicly accused both OpenAI and rival Anthropic of acting irresponsibly, claiming they were “gambling with human safety.” One source said Altman initiated the meeting. Only general details of the discussion are known, mainly centering on artificial intelligence and its growing influence. In the following days, the two expressed notably different positions on whether the pace of advanced AI development should be slowed. On Sunday night, Altman posted that slowing AI progress “is a price worth paying”; “No matter how much competitive pressure the U.S. faces, that’s not a reason for recklessness, nor should AI capability run ahead of alignment and oversight.” Trump opposed AI regulation, denied the need for AI guardrails, and asserted that regulating AI would lead to its "demise and bankruptcy," calling AI “the greatest engine of economic development in history.”

[Company News]

Tempus AI Founder Supports Anthropic's Call to Hit the Brakes on AI. Tempus AI (TEM.US) CEO Eric Lefkofsky said in a media interview on Monday: “Given that the current models are capable of self-training and self-improvement, I can easily imagine a moment when one has to ask: ‘Could this get out of control and surpass our grasp?’” He agrees with slowing AI development, pointing to both safety concerns and capital efficiency. He praised the efforts of Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX in healthcare and played down fears that “if the biggest U.S. companies slow investment, the country will fall behind.” “I don’t think reducing the speed from 100 miles per hour to 70 miles per hour bears any real risk,” he said, “and I don’t believe other countries will overtake us because of it.”

Apple Officially Launches Siri AI. Apple (AAPL.US) announced that Siri AI, powered by the new generation of Apple Intelligence, has officially launched, becoming a “more powerful and more personalized” intelligent assistant. On the same day, Apple released the new generation of Apple Intelligence, supporting Siri AI. Version 27 of iOS starts rolling out the relevant function updates today. Siri AI is now available in beta for English users and will expand to French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish next month. Siri AI will not initially launch on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS systems in EU regions. Apple said Siri AI is a significantly improved, more naturally conversational assistant with personal context awareness, a wide knowledge base, screen awareness, and expanded system-level operation capabilities. Siri AI can help users instantly obtain the information they need, including answering almost any question and extracting relevant information from the user’s messages, emails, photos, and more.

Trump Calls in During Jensen Huang’s Forum, Says AI Fears Are a Scam. Nvidia (NVDA.US) CEO Jensen Huang accepted a phone call from U.S. President Trump on speaker at the All-In Summit forum on Monday local time. This isn’t the first time Huang has received a call from Trump during work, but this time he turned on speaker in front of a large audience. During the call, Trump discussed concerns about AI development, calling them a “scam,” and stated: “Robots will not take over the world.” Trump also talked about data centers, claiming that some communities would decline without them but now are wealthy—though he gave no specifics. Huang did not rebut these points, instead saying: “We’ll make sure everyone in America’s AI race benefits.” Huang also told Trump, by explaining he was in front of thousands of live audience members, to express support.

Waymo Expands Paid Robotaxi Service to Its 15th City. Alphabet’s (GOOG.US) Waymo announced the launch of paid robotaxi service in Las Vegas, making it the fifteenth U.S. city where it offers ride-hailing services. The company said service will begin Monday and will roll out in phases, initially deploying dozens of vehicles with plans to expand to hundreds in the future. Waymo indicated its Las Vegas robotaxi service will not initially allow highway access, and airport pickup and highway service will be added in later stages. The fleet for this operation is managed by Moove, which also handles Waymo operations in Phoenix and Miami. Waymo now operates over 4,000 robotaxis in the U.S., providing over 500,000 paid orders weekly. The company previously stated it aims to reach 1 million paid rides per week in 20 global cities this year, and is preparing pilot programs in markets such as London and Tokyo.

Oracle Starts New Round of Layoffs; Some Teams See Double-Digit Cuts. It is reported that Oracle (ORCL.US) has started a new round of layoffs, with sources saying cuts are expected to begin Monday. Last month, the media reported Oracle had drawn up a new plan to trim payroll costs as the company accumulates tens of billions in debt to fund AI infrastructure construction. According to internal documents, some teams will see double-digit layoff rates. Recent filings show Oracle’s workforce fell by 21,000 people, or 13%, in fiscal year 2026 ended May 31. Before this round of layoffs, Oracle said it had about 141,000 employees. Oracle has racked up several billion dollars in debt to build data centers, betting on growing AI demand. Oracle reported first-quarter capital expenditures of $28.5 billion, up from $8.5 billion a year earlier, and maintained its fiscal 2027 capex forecast at $90–95 billion.

[Investment Bank Ratings]

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