Among companies with a market capitalization of at least $10 billion, the biggest gainer last week was Unity Software, an American company engaged in the development of video games and AR/VR content, whose shares rose by 36.64%. The price of one share reached $28.34. Next is Super Micro Computer. Shares of this company that produces data centers and develops cloud solutions rose by 32.62% in the past business week, reaching $56.07. Alibaba Group Holding rounds out this top three, with a 20.25% increase. The price of one share of this large wholesale trading platform is $143.75.

The top three largest-cap companies with the biggest losses last week starts with Akamai Technologies. The share price of this cybersecurity systems provider has fallen by 23.01% in a week and is now at $76.73. Next is Axon Enterprise. The share price of this American company that develops military technology for the army, police, and civilians has fallen by 22.79% and reached $513.22. The aforesaid top three is rounded out by Twilio. The share price of this company that develops communication tools has fallen by 22.39% and is at $114.31.

The US stock market fell sharply on February 21 as concerns about a slowing economy and rising inflation have pushed investors to safer assets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7%, its worst day since the start of 2025. The S&P 500 fell 1.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2%. Investors moved their money into bonds and defensive securities. These are shares of companies that tend to remain stable or even grow during economic instability because they supply basic goods or services—such as food, health care, and utilities—that people continue to buy regardless of economic conditions. Analysts said that the decline in stocks was contributed by US President Donald Trump's policy of new tariff and government spending cuts, as well as gloomy economic indicators.

The US stock market recovered slightly at the end of the week—after a rough week. Futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq rose by about 0.5%. Investors are waiting for important events this week, including Nvidia's earnings report on Wednesday, which is important given that the artificial intelligence (AI) giant's shares had suffered a significant loss due to competition from China's DeepSeek. The market is waiting also for the January personal consumption expenditures report, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, to be released on Friday.

Transportation companies’ stocks plunged last Friday amid weak economic data and tariff concerns. The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 2.6%, its biggest one-day loss in two months. Old Dominion was the hardest hit as its shares fell 8.5%. Airlines also suffered, with Alaska Air down 6.9%, United Airlines down 6.4%, and Delta down 5.9%. FedEx shares fell 5.3%. Investors’ main concerns are tariffs. Trump has raised tariffs on steel and aluminum to 25% and has proposed similar tariffs on imports of cars, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. Investors fear that these tariffs could raise prices, dampen demand, and reduce international freight, affecting companies engaged in shipping and delivery.

The shares of vaccine manufacturing companies rose on Friday, buoyed by concerns about a new study of a coronavirus disease in bats in China. Moderna’s shares rose more than 5%, becoming the biggest gainer in the S&P 500; the Pfizer and Novavax shares also rose. But shares of travel and health insurance companies fell for the same reason. Reports from Chinese researchers suggest that the aforesaid bat virus can also spread to humans.

US equity funds saw their first inflows in three weeks. Investors bought $1.59 billion worth of US equity funds last week. The largest inflows were into multi-cap funds, which combine stocks of large- mid- and small-cap companies, followed by large-cap equity funds, then small- and mid-cap. Bond funds remained strong last week, attracting $8.62 billion, marking their seventh consecutive week of inflows. US money market funds, meanwhile, saw outflows of $14.11 billion, their third weekly decline in a month.

On February 17, a total of 5 billion drams of government bonds were placed on Armenia’s securities market, which will be redeemed on December 1. The respective public auction had four participants, and the proposals submitted by them amounted to 18.9 billion drams. The weighted average price of the placed government bonds amounted to 93.7946 drams, and the yield was 8.3278 percent.

US business activity slowed in February, with the overall economic index falling to its lowest point in 17 months. Concerns about tariffs and government spending cuts were the main reasons for this fall. The S&P Global PMI index fell to 50.4, showing minimal growth. The services sector contracted for the first time in a year, while industry showed slight growth. Home sales fell by about 5% in January, due to higher mortgage rates and rising construction costs. Overall, concerns about rising costs and government policy have made businesses and consumers more cautious.

The US consumer sentiment index fell to a 15-month low of 64.7 in February, from 71.7 in January. This decline was attributed to concerns about President Trump’s proposed tariffs, which are expected to increase inflation. Short-term inflation expectations have risen to 4.3%, the highest since November 2023, while long-term inflation expectations have risen to 3.5%, the highest since 1995.

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