Wall Street cools down, US stocks retreat from historical highs.

The US stock market closed the first trading session of the week slightly lower, marking a correction after a strong rally that had pushed key indices to record highs. Although the decline was not significant, this reflects the cautious sentiment of investors as the market awaits a crucial interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the middle of the week.

The S&P 500 turned red again, retreating from its all-time high as investors awaited the Fed's decision.

During the session, the S&P 500 fell 23.89 points, or 0.3%, to 6,846.51, marking its second decline in 11 days but remaining just 0.6% away from its all-time high set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 215.67 points (0.4%) to 47,739.32, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1% to 23,545.90. The Russell 2000, representing small-cap stocks, remained virtually unchanged, falling less than 0.1%.

One of the most notable highlights of the session was the negative performance of Berkshire Hathaway, whose shares fell 1.4% after announcing changes in its senior leadership. Todd Combs, head of GEICO's insurance division, is expected to leave JPMorgan Chase, while Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg will retire next year. These changes have made investors more cautious about the short-term outlook for the conglomerate founded by Warren Buffett.

Netflix shares also came under significant pressure, falling 3.4%, after Paramount announced a proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery for $30 per share, an ambitious move that would surpass Netflix's announced deal last week. Paramount offered a completely cash payment, made quickly and directly to shareholders, in contrast to Netflix's hybrid cash-stock structure, which is still dependent on the spin-off of Warner Bros. from Discovery.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery rose 4.4%, benefiting from the bidding war. Paramount Skydance also surged 9% as the market viewed it as a potentially landmark deal in the media industry. However, the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal still faces legal risks after President Donald Trump stated that combining the two major media corporations "could raise concerns about market power."

Wall Street's focus also came from the $11 billion deal between IBM and Confluent, a company specializing in real-time data processing. IBM expects the acquisition of Confluent to boost its AI tool deployment capabilities, thereby improving its position in the artificial intelligence infrastructure race. Confluent shares rose 29.1% immediately after the news, while IBM shares edged up 0.4%.

Carvana, an online car sales platform, also surged 12.1% after announcing its inclusion in the S&P 500 index on December 22nd. This move typically triggers significant capital inflows from index-tracking funds. Conversely, Comfort Systems USA fell 1.2% despite also being added to the S&P 500, as the market perceived its current valuation to have largely reflected the positive news.

CoreWeave, an AI cloud infrastructure company, fell 2.3% after announcing plans to raise $2 billion in debt that can be repaid in both cash and stock, indicating the company continues to need significant capital to meet the soaring demand for AI computing.

Despite a widespread decline in major indices, analysts believe the market is in a "cooling-down" phase after weeks of rapid growth. Wall Street had seen a strong rally fueled by expectations that the Fed would continue cutting interest rates this year, as lower rates would support the economy and drive stock valuations higher.

However, the risk of renewed inflation remains a drag on sentiment. Traders are focusing their attention on Wednesday's Fed meeting, which is seen as a key factor in determining the short-term market trend.

Despite the market correction on December 8th, the overall picture for 2025 remains quite bright, with the S&P 500 having risen more than 16-17% since the beginning of the year thanks to a series of supporting factors including: expectations of interest rate cuts, strong corporate earnings, and a wave of investment in technology, especially AI.

Oppenheimer Asset Management continues to express optimism, setting a target of 8,100 points for the S&P 500 by the end of 2026, equivalent to an 18% increase from the current level. The team of strategists led by John Stoltzfus emphasizes the resilience of the US economy and expects corporate earnings to maintain strong growth.

According to Oppenheimer, capital will continue to shift from defensive stocks to cyclical stocks, which benefit from lower interest rates and improved consumer demand. Tech giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet remain key drivers thanks to massive global corporate spending on AI.

With many technology stocks already highly valued, experts warn investors to restructure their portfolios, increasing the proportion of fundamental, value, and cyclical stocks—those with reasonable valuations and higher safety levels. While the long-term outlook remains positive, the market may experience short-term corrections as expectations of interest rate cuts outweigh the Fed's cautious messaging.

The decline on December 8th is therefore seen as a "resting" phase rather than a signal of a reversal. Wall Street is likely to remain quiet until the Fed announces its interest rate decision, a factor that could shape market trends for the rest of the month.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/pho-wall-ha-nhiet-chung-khoan-my-roi-dinh-lich-su-174830.html