AI Fear Grips Wall Street as a New Stock Market Reality Sets In

For months, investors have been growing increasingly anxious about how artificial intelligence will potentially transform the economy. Last week, those concerns suddenly spilled over into the stock market.

The culprit was AI startup Anthropic, which released new tools designed to automate work tasks in various industries, from legal and data services to financial research. The announcements sparked fears that the innovations would doom countless businesses. In response, investors dumped a broad range of stocks, from Expedia Group Inc. to Salesforce Inc. to London Stock Exchange Group Plc.