Major U.S. stock indexes fell on Monday, led lower by AI-related shares. Industry leaders voiced concerns about AI safety risks and urged a slowdown in development, prompting investors to reassess the sector. Nvidia dropped 3% and Amazon fell more than 1%, while chipmakers such as Intel and AMD also slid. Defensive areas including consumer staples and healthcare proved more resilient.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has abandoned plans to sell up to $7.5 billion worth of the company’s shares, a reduction plan that had been in the works since June. Ellison controls about 40% of Oracle, making his trading decisions closely watched. The stock also faced pressure amid debate over AI regulation and the prospect of another Federal Reserve rate hike. Oracle shares were down 4.5% in early trading.

SanDisk said demand for AI-related storage is running ahead of expectations, with customers extending NBMs and increasing NAND purchases. Management said competitors are spending about 2.7 times more capital per petabyte, underscoring what it described as the company’s capital-efficiency advantage. The stock trades at 7.6x forward earnings; a return to an 11x multiple would imply about $2,350 per share, or 44% upside.

Microsoft said Azure’s annualized revenue has surpassed $100 billion. The company’s data-center expansion plans suggest compute capacity could triple to 38 GW by 2032, signaling confidence in long-term cloud demand. Copilot usage is stabilizing, which management says could support further monetization and platform scaling.

Oil prices surged more than 4% on Monday to a 16-week high, with Brent rising to $109.29 a barrel and WTI to $104.26. The rally followed an attack that knocked out Saudi Arabia’s east-west pipeline, threatening up to 4% of global oil supply, alongside ship attacks in the Middle East that added to supply worries. U.S. diesel futures also climbed, edging toward a record high.

Costco has begun rationing Kirkland Signature full synthetic motor oil, limiting members to two purchases as the Iran war tightens energy supplies and raises costs. The 10-quart package now costs $58, up from as little as $30. Brown University’s Iran War Energy Cost Tracker estimates the conflict has pushed additional U.S. gasoline and diesel costs above $100 billion, with the average household paying more than $750 extra since the war began in February. The tracker also puts the national average gasoline price at $6.23 a gallon.

Meta Platforms shares were down 1.2% for the year through the Sept. 10 close, lagging most large-cap tech peers. The company plans to spend $130 billion to $145 billion this year on AI infrastructure, and free cash flow fell from $13.2 billion in Q1 to $1.7 billion in Q2. Despite that squeeze, the article argues Meta’s operating performance looks stronger than its share price implies.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday as concerns about the pace and safety of artificial intelligence weighed on technology shares. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9%, and the Dow slipped 160 points. Chipmakers led the declines, with Nvidia and Broadcom down 3% each, while AMD and Intel fell 5% apiece and Marvell dropped 6%. Oil prices rose sharply, with WTI up 3% above $103 a barrel and Brent gaining 4.5% above $109.