--- title: "Anthropic Just Sent Shockwaves Through the Entire Stock Market by Releasing a New AI Tool" description: "A new AI tool from Anthropic caused an unexpected down turn in software stocks, which quickly spread to the broader market." date: "2026-02-05" modified: "2026-02-05" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/anthropic-shockwaves-stock-market" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" --- # Anthropic Just Sent Shockwaves Through the Entire Stock Market by Releasing a New AI Tool ![Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is shown with curly dark hair and glasses is wearing a dark pinstripe suit jacket over a white shirt. He has a slightly open mouth expression. The background is a green grid pattern with an orange circle behind his head.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images* Last week, Anthropic [released]() a new AI tool for automating legal work, precipitating a mass stock market selloff over fears that the tech could upend huge software customers in industries ranging from law to finance, [*Reuters* reports]() — an urgent example of the power that AI currently has over financial markets and even the economy writ large. The S&P 500 software and services index fell by nearly nine percent over five trading sessions, and is down over 20 percent from its October peak following the release of the AI tool. The Nasdaq 100 Index is similarly despondent, down by around 2.6 percent. Thomson Reuters, *Reuters'* parent company which operates a large legal division, saw its stock plunge by over 20 percent over five days. Both the SaaS heavyweight Salesforce and the global cloud-based cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike fell by around percent, but eased on Wednesday. The stock rout is a sign of the tense fears over AI automation's potential to disrupt entire industries and especially those focused on knowledge work — despite the tech's still considerable shortcomings. "We are not yet at the point where AI agents will destroy software companies, especially given concerns around security, data ownership and use," Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, told *Reuters*, The buzz centers on a new plugin for Anthropic's Claude Cowork AI agent, which was [released last month](). Simply titled "Legal," Anthropic [says]() it can speed up and even automate contract review, non-disclosure agreement triage, and compliance workflows — "all configurable to your organization's playbook and risk tolerances." Of course, none of what it produces should be construed as legal advice: "All outputs should be reviewed by licensed attorneys," Anthropic cautions. Nonetheless, this was taken as bad news for legal divisions everywhere, the shockwaves of which were felt in the larger market. Morgan Stanley analysts summarized the anxieties in a note to Thomson Reuters: "Anthropic launched new capabilities for its Cowork to the legal space, heightening competition," they wrote. "We view this as a sign of intensifying competition, and thus a potential negative." There's still considerable doubt over the efficacy of AI agents in the workplace. A [MIT study]() found that companies which integrated AI into its workflows saw no meaningful increase in revenue, while analysts have observed that the tools [haven't led to a bump in productivity](), either. Its introduction into the legal sphere has been [particularly fraught](), with numerous lawyers [landing in hot water with a judge]() after their AI tools incorrectly cited sources and fabricated caselaw. Perhaps AI agents will find some general purpose use among white collar workers, but there's a long way to go before they can have a sniff at highly specialized fields. "It feels like an illogical leap to extrapolate Claude Cowork Plugins, or any similar personal productivity tools, to an expectation that every company will hereby write and maintain a bespoke product to replace every layer of mission-critical enterprise software they have ever deployed," JP Morgan analyst Mark Murphy told *Reuters*. Even so, it's undeniable that AI has the market feeling pretty jumpy. **More on AI:** [*Tech Companies Showing Signs of Distress as They Run Out of Money for AI Infrastructure*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()