Chip index falls 5.9% after AI lab leaders urge slower pace

U.S. chip stocks sold off Monday after Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI leaders warned on rapid AI development and called for a slower pace, Reuters reported. The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 5.9%. Nvidia dropped 3.4%. Micron fell more than 5%; Broadcom and AMD each lost more than 4%.

What the tape priced: a hit to the AI-capex / semiconductor complex that has led markets, not a call on any single name. The Nasdaq closed 0.56% lower and the S&P 500 0.48% lower. Information technology was the weakest S&P sector, down 1.68%.

Rotation: Software names that had been under pressure on AI competition fears bounced. ServiceNow, Adobe, and Workday rose between 4% and 7.4%, Reuters said.

Asia: SoftBank Group shares plunged by double digits in Tokyo on the same AI-warning / OpenAI IPO-delay complex, according to Nikkei and other session coverage — SoftBank is a major OpenAI backer. Exact close varies by secondary; not in the Reuters U.S. wrap.

Stake: Chipmakers and AI infrastructure suppliers if “pace the frontier” talk sticks; hyperscaler and lab capex calendars; SoftBank’s OpenAI mark; software vendors that benefit if AI disruption narratives cool.

What’s next: Whether the selloff extends after the Fed meeting; any lab walk-back of pacing language; SoftBank follow-through once Tokyo opens again.

— Nico Valdez