Among companies with a market capitalization of at least $10 billion, the largest gain last week was recorded by Avidity Biosciences, Inc., which develops DNA and RNA therapies. The company’s shares rose by 42.12% over the week to $69.85 per share. Next was Argentina’s energy and oil extraction company YPF Sociedad Anónima, with a 35.18% increase to $36.43 per share. Completing this top three was Guardant Health, Inc., a leader in blood tests and genetic research in the field of oncology, whose shares rose by 28.93% to $93.02 per share.

The trio of large-cap companies posting the biggest losses last week was led by Fiserv, Inc., a provider of financial technology and payment solutions, whose shares fell by 46.72% in one week to $66.69 per share. Next came Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., operating in the real estate sector for biotech and research institutions, down 24.79% to $58.22 per share. Rounding out this top three was US restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., whose shares dropped 23.06% to $31.69 per share.

US stock markets ended the week higher for the third consecutive week. The S&P 500 rose 0.26%, the Dow Jones gained 0.09%, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.61%. The markets’ positive momentum was driven by the financial results of major tech companies Amazon and Apple.

Bitcoin fell by about 5% in October, interrupting a seven-year streak of consecutive annual growth. The decline was driven by market uncertainty, investor caution, and US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 100% import tariff on Chinese goods, which triggered one of the largest liquidations in crypto market history. Despite the drop, Bitcoin has risen by more than 16% so far this year.

Apple’s shares gained around 2% by the end of the week amid optimistic forecasts suggesting that strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup is helping revive sales momentum, despite delays in shipments to China. Following its September release, Apple’s market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion. The new forecasts also eased investor concerns about the company’s relatively slow pace in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) features.

Amazon’s shares jumped more than 11% on Friday, thanks to strong cloud services and retail performance, dispelling concerns that the company was lagging behind competitors in the AI sector. Amazon Web Services revenue grew 20% in the third quarter to $33 billion—nearly double that of Google Cloud.

During the week ending October 29, global stock funds recorded a sharp rise in investments totaling $10.58 billion. Bond funds saw inflows for the 28th consecutive week, amounting to $11.84 billion. Investments in money market funds, however, fell to $3.26 billion. Gold and precious metal funds registered an outflow of $4.17 billion—their first in ten weeks.

Mastercard exceeded analysts’ expectations in the third quarter, posting a $3.96 billion profit. Revenue rose 17% to $8.6 billion, while international transactions increased 15%. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach highlighted the company’s active engagement in agentic commerce and stablecoin sectors, noting that they will transform this payment system and reduce transaction costs.

Microsoft reported record capital expenditures of nearly $35 billion, driven by growing demand for AI and cloud services. The company warned that spending will continue to rise. Microsoft’s shares fell about 4% in extended trading. However, the costs are already paying off: the Azure cloud business grew 40%, exceeding forecasts, and total revenue reached $77.7 billion, up 18% from the previous year.

On November 3, Armenia’s stock market saw the placement of 5 billion drams in government bonds maturing on November 2, 2026. The public auction had four participants, submitting bids totaling 25 billion drams. The weighted average price of government bonds placed was 92.6308 drams, with a yield of 7.9%.

The US Federal Reserve last Wednesday reduced the refinancing interest rate by 0.25 percentage points. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted that this might be the last rate cut of 2025, considering that there are disagreements within the Central Bank and the absence of key economic data due to the US government shutdown.

On October 30, the European Central Bank (ECB) left its refinancing interest rate unchanged for the third consecutive time, citing reduced economic risks and inflation remaining close to target. ECB president Christine Lagarde stated that risks to growth have eased due to tariff reductions between the US and China, the ceasefire in Gaza, and a new EU-US trade agreement.


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