Finance

Wall Street benchmarks recorded consecutive daily declines, pressured heavily by rising borrowing costs that offset early gains in the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell roughly 0.3% to 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged slightly below flat line thresholds during afternoon trading.

A leaked initial public offering prospectus for Anthropic revealed the artificial intelligence developer is targeting a $2 trillion valuation while actively warning investors about the technology's existential risks. Simultaneously, rival developer OpenAI chose to shelve a next-generation frontier model over safety complications, prompting investors to reassess the long-term risk profile of the broader AI trade.

Brent crude futures declined slightly to approximately $96 a barrel, bringing brief relief to the markets after recently spiking above the $100 threshold. However, energy markets remain highly volatile as the White House maintains a firm stance on Middle Eastern diplomatic negotiations, recently rejecting maritime ceasefire terms presented by Iran.