The Economic Times·2025-12-21 12:20Market Performance - The S&P 500 has decreased in December, contrary to historical trends that typically show strong performance in this month [1] - For the year, the S&P 500 is up 952.87 points, or 16.2%, while the Dow Jones is up 5,590.67 points, or 13.1%, the Nasdaq is up 3,996.83 points, or 20.7%, and the Russell 2000 is up 299.27 points, or 13.4% [6][10] Influencing Factors - Recent fluctuations in U.S. equities have been driven by scrutiny over significant corporate spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and changing expectations regarding potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026 [2] - Concerns regarding Oracle's data-center project have negatively impacted tech and AI-related stocks, while positive inflation data has provided a boost to the market [2][5] Sector Analysis - The tech sector, which has the largest weighting in major indexes like the S&P 500, has faced challenges due to worries about the timing of returns on substantial infrastructure investments in AI [5] - Despite these concerns, AI-related stocks, including Nvidia and Oracle, have shown resilience, with Nvidia rising again and Oracle experiencing a significant increase after entering a joint venture for TikTok in the U.S. [9]