Wall Street’s main indices closed slightly lower as worries over valuations of artificial intelligence stocks lingered in the final days of the year.
“There hasn’t been much that has moved markets” in the past few days, said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management. “Today is no different.”
Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments told AFP that it is “perfectly normal for the market to pause, consolidate, and go down a little bit.”
“Right now, the market is consolidating a very strong rally from April’s low until October,” he added.
The major US indices remain on track for solid gains over the full year.
The Federal Reserve’s monetary easing in the second half of this year has been a key driver of the rally, compounding a surge in the tech sector on the back of the vast amounts of cash pumped into all things AI.
It also helped offset recent worries about a possible tech bubble and warnings that traders might not see a return on their investments in AI for some time.
Minutes of the Fed’s recent policy meeting in December indicated that most Fed officials see further rate cuts as appropriate if inflation cools over time as expected.
But when it came to the extent and timing of reductions, some officials suggested that it was likely appropriate to keep levels unchanged for some time after December’s cut.
“Perhaps one of the biggest threats to stock indices for 2026 is an end to interest rate cuts, or even rate hikes in the major economies,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB, noted Tuesday.
Investors, including central banks, have been piling into dollar-denominated silver and gold on expectations of more cuts to US interest rates next year.
Gold, in particular, has rocketed to record highs this year thanks to its status as a safe-haven investment amid geopolitical unrest.
The price of silver jumped 5.5% to US$76.09 an ounce on Tuesday, having reached a record high of US$84 on Monday before tumbling as investors booked profits.
Silver, a key industrial metal as well as being used for jewellery, has won additional support from tight supply concerns.
Europe’s main stock markets ended the day with gains.
Frankfurt, which is closed on Wednesday, ended the year with a gain of 23%.
The CAC 40 index in Paris was heading for an annual gain of more than 10% and London’s FTSE 100 for over 21%.
Asian markets have enjoyed a healthy year, with Seoul’s Kospi piling on more than 75% and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 more than 26% – both having hit records earlier in the year.
But the two edged down Tuesday, with Sydney, Mumbai and Taipei also lower. Hong Kong, Singapore, Wellington, Bangkok and Jakarta rose. Shanghai was flat.
In company news, shares in Facebook owner Meta rose 1.1% after it announced it had agreed to buy Manus, an artificial intelligence agent created by a company founded in China but now based in Singapore.