Shares of companies related to artificial intelligence fell sharply on Monday, after the heads of American companies developing the most advanced artificial intelligence models warned of the necessity of slowing down the pace of development of this technology, to avoid risks threatening humanity.
Nasdaq mini-futures fell 1.3 percent during Asian trading, while SoftBank shares, an investor in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, fell by as much as 13.2 percent in Japan, according to Reuters.
In a lengthy article published on the X platform on Saturday, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, called on artificial intelligence companies to slow down the pace of developing the capabilities of their models, in light of mounting fears of misuse of this technology. Elon Musk, President of XAI, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, announced their support for Amodei’s position.
Amodei said that artificial intelligence agents “may be able, within six to 12 months, to take control of the entire Internet, which could cause damage amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Altman also said that OpenAI will not go public this year, citing safety concerns.
In Japan, the shares of Kioxia, which specializes in manufacturing memory chips, fell 9.8 percent at the beginning of trading, while the shares of Tokyo Electron, which operates in the chip supply chain, fell 3.7 percent.
In Taipei, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) shares fell 1.2 percent, while South Korea's SK Hynix shares fell 5.3 percent, and Samsung Electronics shares fell 3.7 percent.
“AI and semiconductor stocks in Tokyo are likely to come under selling pressure, after a series of statements over the weekend calling for slowing the pace of AI development,” Takayuki Miyajima, chief economist at Sony Financial Group, said in a note.
He added: "The uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East continues to weigh on investor sentiment."
In Shanghai, memory chip maker CXMT fell by as much as 3.6 percent, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation fell by 2.6 percent.
In Hong Kong, “Zhongji Inolite” shares fell by up to 6.7 percent at one stage of trading, while “Mini Max” shares fell by up to 7.8 percent. The shares of ZAI, the developer of the GLM series of artificial intelligence models, also fell by up to 10.5 percent, after offering its shares at a discount.
“Unacceptable” risks
On Thursday, San Francisco-based Anthropic released a threat intelligence report examining how several entities are using its “Cloud” artificial intelligence models in activities ranging from weapons development to cyber operations, surveillance and fraud.
Concerns about the potential harms of artificial intelligence increased after Anthropic researcher Jacob Cookson resigned, saying that “the people who build artificial intelligence seriously believe that it may destroy us all by the end of the decade.”
Altman said in an interview that the risks of human extinction posed by artificial intelligence are “unacceptable.”
While a number of American lawmakers raised concerns about the rapid development of artificial intelligence and called for new rules, US President Donald Trump, on Sunday, described critics of artificial intelligence as very negative forces that pose scenarios that will not come true, and said that he wants to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of this industry.
Investments and trades related to artificial intelligence have contributed to driving a large part of the gains in global stocks since OpenAI launched “ChatGPT” in 2022. But cyberattacks carried out by out-of-control artificial intelligence agents, along with popular dissatisfaction with the expansion of the construction of data centers, have recently led to growing opposition to the development of this industry.
The US and Chinese governments are expected to hold talks on the safety of artificial intelligence, as part of bilateral discussions scheduled for this month, according to two people briefed on the plans.
But China's state-backed Global Times newspaper criticized Amodei's article in an editorial, calling it a "Cold War playbook" aimed at curbing China's technological development.
Some investors dismissed the warnings from Anthropic and OpenAI.
Michael Burry, who was famous for his successful bets against the American housing market before the financial crisis in 2008, and whose story was covered in the movie “The Big Short,” said in a message on the “X” platform that the warnings are nothing but “noise and exaggeration,” and that they are “a cover for an uncontrollable slowdown in real growth.”
Others believed that these warnings may remain a pressure factor on the markets.
“In the short term, these warnings may continue to pressure AI and chip stocks,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Bank in Singapore.
She added: “Its assessments assume high demand and the continued unabated pace of technological progress. “When expectations are this high, the mere possibility of a delay may prompt investors to take profits.”
But the biggest question for markets regarding AI is: Who will ultimately reap the returns from all the capital being spent on building new production capabilities? Sebastien Mallet, portfolio manager at T.H., said: Rowe Price in London, this is the most important question.
He added: “There is no doubt that artificial intelligence will change the world. But this does not necessarily mean that every investment made today will achieve a rewarding return.
On Monday, Goldman Sachs adopted a more hawkish stance regarding the Bank of England, expecting to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in November 2026, in light of continued inflation and sustained economic growth.
The bank had previously expected interest rates to remain unchanged throughout 2026, according to Reuters.
Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note: “Recent weeks have witnessed significant increases in wholesale energy prices, an increase in general inflation that exceeded the bank’s expectations, as well as strong growth data.”
The increase in energy prices exacerbated concerns about inflation prospects in Britain, after the price of oil exceeded $100 per barrel due to renewed tensions in the Middle East.
Earlier this month, data showed that the British economy grew in July at its fastest annual pace in 18 months, supported by the artificial intelligence sector and continued momentum as a result of the strong performance in the first half of the year.
In line with prevailing expectations, Goldman Sachs expects the Bank of England to keep the interest rate unchanged at 3.75 percent, during its meeting scheduled for September 17.
The financial services company stated that the Bank of England is likely to hold interest rates steady after raising them in November, as lower energy prices will reduce the need for further monetary tightening, before interest cuts begin in late 2027.
London Stock Exchange Group data showed that traders are currently pricing in the possibility of a 47 basis point interest rate hike by the Bank of England, by the end of the year.
The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the second time this year last week.
Traders are also largely focused on the expected interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, later this week.
The Japanese Nikkei index fell on Monday, affected by sharp losses in technology and artificial intelligence stocks, after executives in major companies raised concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence technologies and called for slowing the pace of their development. On the other hand, the broader Topix index rose, while Japanese government bonds remained stable before the upcoming Bank of Japan meeting this week.
The Nikkei fell by 0.81 percent to close at 63,492.99 points, after falling by about two percent during the session. Topix rose 0.74 percent to 4,058.21 points. The main pressure from technology stocks came after Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, called on artificial intelligence companies to slow down the development of modeling capabilities. His position was supported in social media posts by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Elon Musk, President of XAI, and Demis Hassabis, Head of Google's DeepMind unit.
Altman said, separately, that OpenAI will not go public during 2026, with the company currently focusing on safety issues.
Wataru Akiyama, equity strategist at Nomura Securities, said that these concerns cast a shadow on the expectations of profit growth for companies related to semiconductors and the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure, noting that the decline in the Japanese market was almost entirely concentrated in artificial intelligence and chip stocks.
SoftBank Group shares fell; The main investor in “OpenAI”, by 10.72 percent, recording its largest loss in more than two months. The shares of the chip manufacturing company “Kioxia Holding” fell 6.37 percent, and the shares of “Resonac Holding” lost 5.98 percent.
In contrast, Fujitsu shares rose 7.39 percent, NEC rose 6.90 percent, and Recruit Holdings rose 6.35 percent. The market breadth was positive, as 158 Nikkei component stocks rose, compared to a decline of 66 stocks, but the large weight of technology companies pushed the index to decline.
Chubu Electric Power shares also fell 3.58 percent, after the company announced that its president and chairman of the board of directors had stepped down following an investigation into falsifying seismic data at a nuclear power plant.
Bond stability
In the bond market, trading has largely stabilized with anticipation of the Bank of Japan meeting on September 17 and 18. The benchmark 10-year government bond yield fell 0.5 basis points to 2.980 percent, while the 40-year bond yield fell by the same amount to 4.10 percent. Bond yields for two and five years remained stable.
Markets widely expect the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, after hawkish signals from Governor Kazuo Ueda and strong inflation data.
Keisuke Tsuruta, chief bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, said that speculation about the path of raising interest rates by the Bank of Japan is likely to fluctuate significantly. This makes taking strong investment positions in the government bond market difficult.
Overseas, US Treasury yields fell slightly, with the 10-year bond yield trading near 4.965 percent. Markets are counting on a high possibility that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this week after strong US inflation data, while the rise in oil, against the backdrop of Middle East supply risks, has kept inflationary fears high.
Japanese markets are anticipating a busy week of monetary policy decisions, with the meetings of the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve, at a time when energy supply disruptions from the Gulf region continue due to the US-Iranian conflict.
