Last week, US stock markets recorded their biggest weekly declines since last November. The S&P 500 index fell by 1.39%, the Nasdaq by 2.1%, and the Dow Jones by 1.23%. The market decline this week was again due to concerns about artificial intelligence (AI).

Shares of leading tech companies have fallen significantly this year, amid growing doubts among investors about whether the huge spending on AI is justified. Microsoft shares have fallen by about 17%, or $613 billion, since the beginning of the year, and Amazon has lost about 13.9%, or $343 billion, due to expectations of a sharp increase in capital spending. Apple, Alphabet, and Nvidia also saw their market values fall over the same period.

European stock markets ended the week past at historic highs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.1%, led primarily by strong performance in the raw materials and energy sectors, which offset declines in technology and financial stocks. Investor sentiment was also boosted by better-than-expected US employment data, which pointed to economic stability.

Shares of social media platform Pinterest plunged nearly 21% to their lowest since the pandemic in 2020 as AI tools “threaten” to change the market, and the next advertisers of the platform are reducing advertising costs.

Shares of electric vehicle maker Rivian surged 25% on Friday after the company said the launch of its more affordable R2 models could boost demand this year.

Shares of Applied Materials, a maker of chip manufacturing equipment, rose 11% on Friday after the company reported a better-than-expected quarterly outlook, driven by rapidly rising costs in the AI sector and increased competition in the memory sector.

European and Asian stock funds ended last week with strong inflows as investors reduced their investments in large US stocks, especially in the tech sector. US stock funds saw $1.42 billion in outflows. Global bond funds also saw inflows of about $21.1 billion.

Among companies with a market capitalization of at least $10 billion, auto parts and engineering solutions maker Magna International Inc. was the biggest gainer last week. The company’s shares rose 27.23% to $68.73 per share in one week. Next is Generac Holdings Inc., a manufacturer of power generators and backup power systems, up 22.30% ($224.45 per share). Rounding out this top three is Solstice Advanced Materials, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of advanced and specialty functional chemicals, up 20.73% ($78.22 per share).

The top three largest-cap companies with the biggest losses last week starts off with Astera Labs, Inc., a developer of data center and high-speed connectivity chips, whose shares fell 23.86% ($129.32 per share) in a week. Next is Pinterest, Inc., a social media and visual content sharing platform, down 21.33% ($15.42 per share). This top three is rounded out by Medpace Holdings, Inc., a provider of clinical research and pharmaceutical testing services, down 21.03% ($428.03 per share).

Against the backdrop of a positive labor market picture in January, the US Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut its refinancing rate anytime soon. In January, 130,000 new jobs were created in the US, which exceeded economists' forecasts, and the unemployment rate fell from 4.4% to 4.3 percent.

In January, consumer prices in the US increased by 0.2% less than expected compared to the previous month, mainly due to a decrease in gasoline and rental prices. On an annual basis, the consumer price index increased by 2.4 percent.

On February 10, a total of 20 billion drams of government bonds were placed on Armenia’s securities market, and they will be repaid on April 29, 2030. The public auction had four participants, and the bids submitted by them amounted to 75.4 billion drams. The weighted average price of the placed government bonds was 103.5 drams, and the yield was 7.6 percent.

On Monday, a total of 3 billion drams of government bonds were placed in the securities market of Armenia, and they will be redeemed on November 30, 2026. The public auction had four participants, and the bids submitted by them amounted to 10.9 billion drams. The weighted average price of the placed government bonds was 94.8 drams, and the yield was 94.9 percent.

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