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Stocks drifted lower on Wall Street as long-term Treasury yields ticked higher. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.
Stocks have been under pressure as oil prices have swung sharply amid the U.S. war with Iran, helping to push Treasury yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 5.25% and earlier touched its highest level in 24 years. The price of Brent crude oil fell 1.7% to $96.16 a barrel, but remains far above where it was this summer. Markets in Europe were mixed.
Trump: Tech firms sign accord to 'self-police' AI
President Donald Trump says that he and a large group of leaders of artificial intelligence companies had signed a voluntary accord that will include internal and external reviews of the technology during a meeting at the White House.
Trump is promising that his government wouldn't limit the development of artificial intelligence, even as top executives of AI firms that have called for delays convened in Washington. The AI executives had lunch with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. Trump's confidence in AI is in sharp contrast to the alarms sounded by AI executives in recent days. On Friday, OpenAI said it would pause the training of its latest model as reports multiply of AI agents going rogue.
OpenAI CEO unveils 'always-on' AI agent
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has introduced a new AI agent called Dot, described as "remarkably capable, always-on." He unveiled this at the company's developer conference Tuesday, where he announced several product updates. Dot agents can complete complex tasks proactively, competing with Meta's popular Muse agent.
Altman did not address security concerns that led to delaying a new model's release this week. He emphasized AI's role in empowering people rather than automating life. OpenAI also announced GPT-6.1 Sol and a premium speed tier. Altman's peers met with President Donald Trump to discuss AI oversight, though Altman didn't attend due to the conference.
U.S. job openings slipped to 7.1M in August
U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in August, but the American labor market remains resilient in the face of higher energy costs caused by the fighting with Iran. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that U.S. job openings slid to 7.08 million from a revised 7.34 million in July.
Openings came in below the 7.2 million that forecasters had expected. The department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed that layoffs fell and the number of people quitting their jobs -- a sign of confidence in their prospects -- was little changed in August.
Carney: US steelmaker betrays Canadian workers
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. owner of steelmaker Stelco of betraying Canadian workers after it announced layoffs it attributed in part to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs -- tariffs Cleveland-Cliffs' chief executive has publicly championed.
Carney also threatened legal action against Cleveland-Cliffs, saying the Ohio-based company has binding employment obligations stemming from its $2.4 billion takeover of Stelco in 2024. Stelco says up to 500 workers could be affected as it indefinitely idles cold-rolled and coated operations at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant and shifts production to its Lake Erie facility in Nanticoke.