S&P 500 rebounds as Anthropic’s update tempers AI concerns

Software stocks are in particular focus as investors have been ditching them for months on worries around the disruptive potential of AI

• US stocks rose as Anthropic expanded Claude chatbot deals
• Software and AI stocks led gains, with IBM and AMD shares rising
• Home Depot and homebuilder stocks advanced on strong sales data

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US stocks rebounded on Tuesday as AI startup Anthropic PBC said it was expanding the reach of its Claude chatbot to build partnerships in the software and services sectors.

The S&P 500 Index was up 0.6% at 11:04 a.m. in New York, with seven of 11 sectors in the green, led by consumer discretionary and information-technology stocks. The Nasdaq 100 Index rose 1%.

A day after the artificial-intelligence “scare trade” pummeled financial and software companies, Anthropic unveiled new tools for its Claude Cowork agent software designed to automate work in fields including human resources and investment banking. The efforts were developed with partner companies including financial data provider FactSet Research Systems Inc. FactSet shares gained, as did Thompson Reuters Corp. and Adobe Inc.

Anthropic’s emphasis on partnerships soothed market concerns, by highlighting how Claude integrates rather than displaces existing systems, Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli wrote in a note.

“This ‘we’re here to help, not hurt,’ message from Anthropic is helping to trigger a fairly healthy rebound rally in software, a group that is perhaps the most hated area in the entire market,” he said.

Software stocks are in particular focus as investors have been ditching them for months on worries around the disruptive potential of AI. On Tuesday, International Business Machines Corp. shares recovered somewhat from their worst day in more than 25 years. The stock sank 13% on Monday after Anthropic said its Claude Code tool can help modernize a programming language run on IBM computers. Shares rose 3.9% on Tuesday after Wall Street analysts including Melius Research defended the stock.

Tuesday brings results from Workday Inc. after the close. The company is expected to show double-digit revenue growth. Shares climbed 0.50% in late morning trading. Also among software companies, reports from Salesforce Inc., Snowflake Inc., Intuit Inc. and others are due later this week.

As for shares that were caught up in Monday’s tumble, American Express Co. and Mastercard Inc. declined while Capital One Financial Corp. rallied. Those stocks were among the hardest-hit after Citrini Research on Monday mentioned them in a “thought exercise” describing the potential risk AI could pose for the global economy.

Advanced Micro Devices shares soared 7.2% after Meta Platforms said it would buy the company’s chips and computers designed to run AI models. Nvidia Corp. shares slipped 0.2% ahead of its Wednesday earnings report.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock fell 0.6% after a company update Monday evening. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said he’s starting to see parallels to the era before the 2008 financial crisis, when a rush to make loans ended disastrously. Anxiety about Blue Owl Capital Inc. has been rattling the private credit market.

In economic news, home prices rose a less-than-expected 0.1% month over month in December, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Homebuilder stocks advanced 0.4%.

Home Depot Inc. rallied 3.0% after reporting a key sales metric that beat expectations on steady demand, though the company also cautioned that customers “have been on the sideline with respect to large remodeling projects” for years.  “The homeowner is one of the healthiest customer cohorts out there, but they tell us that uncertainty is growing, that there’s concern around housing affordability, around job losses,” Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said in an interview.

Later on Tuesday, affordability and tariffs are expected to be key domestic themes in President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, posing risk for credit-card issuers, homebuilders, single-family REITs and retailers exposed to duties, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.