Many people haven't realized that this year's U.S. stock market has already shifted into a difficult mode.

The stocks are now trading without rate cuts.
The original market script was: economic slowdown, declining inflation, Federal Reserve cutting rates, liquidity easing, and then everything rising.
But reality has changed — inflation hasn't fully come down, and the economy hasn't clearly entered a recession.
So the market has begun to accept a fact: high interest rates may persist longer.
What does this mean?
It's not a total crash like in 2022, nor is liquidity suddenly disappearing, but: this year will be especially challenging.
Because the environment where everything bought would rise, stories about AI would skyrocket, and even loss-making companies would attract investors, is gradually ending.
The market is entering a phase where true skill matters.
Who really makes money, who has growing orders, who maintains stable cash flow, are the ones more likely to gain funding and valuation premiums.
So you'll see an increasingly obvious phenomenon:
Core AI assets may continue to perform strongly, but many high-valuation software stocks supported by long-term stories will become more and more difficult.
The biggest change in the market this year isn't a broad rally, but extreme differentiation.
If you get it right, you make a lot of money; if you get it wrong, it’s very painful.