A report suggesting OpenAI may delay its IPO until 2027 sent AI-linked stocks tumbling across global
Stock markets opened lower Today and spent much of the session recovering from an early selloff triggered by a report that OpenAI may delay its long-anticipated initial public offering until 2027. The Nasdaq Composite fell as much as 1.1% at the open before trimming losses to around 0.3% by mid-session. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7% at the open and later traded near flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which carries fewer tech-weighted names, fell 237 points at the open before also pulling back toward the flat line.
By the close, the Nasdaq finished down 0.16%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.04%, and the Dow lost 0.06%. It marked the fourth consecutive losing session for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, a stretch that reflected growing unease across technology and AI-adjacent sectors.
What the OpenAI report actually said
A New York Times report published Thursday suggested OpenAI is weighing a delay to its IPO, citing the weak stock performance of SpaceX following its market debut and recent turbulence in AI-related equities as factors behind the potential postponement. The report landed at a moment when investor appetite for AI infrastructure spending was already being questioned.
JPMorgan traders said the delay in accessing public capital markets could prompt AI companies to reconsider whether current spending levels on expensive infrastructure remain sustainable. That concern hit chip stocks, data center suppliers, and other companies whose growth trajectories have been tied directly to AI investment.
How chip stocks absorbed the impact
Micron Technology gave back much of the previous session’s gains, falling around 6% after surging nearly 16% on Thursday following a strong earnings report and raised revenue guidance. Advanced Micro Devices and Intel each dropped approximately 2%. Oracle shares fell more than 1%. The selloff reflected how quickly sentiment around AI hardware can reverse when questions arise about the industry’s spending durability.
The pressure extended beyond the United States. SoftBank Group, one of OpenAI’s major financial backers, fell more than 12% in Asian trading, leading losses across the region’s technology sector.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, dropped 2%. Nvidia extended a losing streak from earlier in the week, falling an additional 1.1% in markets Today.
Other factors weighing on the session
The OpenAI IPO story was not the only force pulling markets lower. Concerns about rising memory and storage costs added a separate layer of pressure after Apple raised prices on its MacBook and iPad lines in response to a global memory chip shortage. Micron’s earnings results, which were strong for the chipmaker, simultaneously highlighted how tight component supply conditions had become for device manufacturers.
The Federal Reserve remained a background concern. A hot May reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, kept the possibility of a rate hike later this year in active discussion. Higher rates are generally unfavorable for high-valuation technology stocks, which have driven most of the market’s gains in recent years.
Oil prices fell roughly 3% during the session despite ongoing geopolitical tension. Brent crude futures sank to around $73 a barrel and WTI crude fell below $70, as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continued despite recent disruptions. The United States and Iran agreed to a 60-day ceasefire, which helped ease some of the risk premium that had built up in energy markets.
A silver lining in sentiment data
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey for June offered a modest offset to the day’s negative tone. The sentiment index came in at 49.5, slightly above expectations and about 10.5% higher than May. One-year inflation expectations fell to 4.6%, and five-year inflation expectations dropped to 3.3%, suggesting that longer-term price fears are cooling even as confidence remains well below levels from earlier in the year.