The Financial Times reports that Blackstone told Anthropic it may not obtain an investment-grade credit rating after its IPO:Blackstone says Anthropic may not obtain an IG rating after its IPO, FT reports.Stocks slide with AI names facing more pressure after FT reported that Blackstone told Anthropic it may not get investment-grade credit rating after IPO.Analysis: The concern adds a financing question to the AI spending debate. Investors are already weighing the cost of delivering AI growth. A potential lack of an investment-grade rating raises another question: how expensive could borrowing become? Lower credit quality can mean higher financing costs and a smaller pool of potential debt investors.The reported reaction—stocks lower and Treasury notes higher—points to a more defensive tone. For AI shares, the focus remains on whether future profits and cash flow can justify the investment required today. The important qualifier is “may”: this is a reported warning about a potential rating outcome, rather than an announced decision by a ratings agency.US stocks remain under pressure, with the Nasdaq indices leading the declines as concerns over AI spending and financing weigh on sentiment.Dow: Down 489.07 points, or 0.93%, at 51,859.18.S&P 500: Down 144.75 points, or 1.87%, at 7,575.64.Nasdaq Composite: Down 802.55 points, or 3.06%, at 25,382.18.Russell 2000: Down 58.42 points, or 2.04%, at 2,800.80.Nasdaq 100: Down 1,076.94 points, or 3.66%, at 28,325.57.The selling is broad, but technology remains at the center of the pressure. AI chip and infrastructure stocks take a beatingThe selling across AI chips and related infrastructure names is particularly aggressive. Intel leads the declines with a drop of more than 30%, but the pressure extends across memory, connectivity, chip design and data center suppliers.Intel: Down 30.25% at $64.22.Sandisk: Down 13.38% at $1,152.03.Astera Labs: Down 13.41% at $251.49.Coherent: Down 12.81% at $206.83.Advanced Micro Devices: Down 11.96% at $498.66.Lumentum: Down 11.69% at $812.07.Arm: Down 11.53% at $202.39.Credo Technology: Down 11.46% at $146.34.Marvell Technology: Down 11.36% at $193.54.Arista Networks: Down 8.53% at $168.50.Applied Materials: Down 8.08% at $387.58.Western Digital: Down 8.04% at $363.64.The breadth of the declines is the concern. Intel has its own earnings disappointment, but double-digit losses across so many related names suggest investors are reassessing the broader AI trade. Strong demand expectations offer less support when investors become more demanding about financing costs, profitability and the cash flow needed to sustain the spending.For buyers, a cheaper price alone does not establish a floor. The first step is to slow the selling and build support. Until that happens, sellers retain control across much of the group. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.