US stock futures slide as AI worries hit tech stocks ahead of Fed decision

US stock futures declined significantly to start the week, led by a sharp drop in technology equities as multiple macroeconomic headwinds and sector-specific concerns converged. Nasdaq futures dropped 1.8%, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.8%, with pre-market selling heavily impacting mega-cap technology and chipmaker shares. Nvidia slipped nearly 3% following statements from prominent artificial intelligence leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, suggesting that the development pacing of advanced frontier AI models may need to slow down for safety reasons. In addition to AI growth revaluations, broader market pressures mounted from surging energy commodities and rising bond yields. Brent crude jumped above $107 per barrel amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, reigniting inflation anxieties ahead of the upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting. With markets pricing in a 25 basis point Fed interest rate hike and benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields hovering near 5%, high-valuation growth stocks face heightened pressure from elevated corporate borrowing costs and diminished present values of future earnings.