Khaberni - Major technology companies' stocks were under pressure last week as investors pulled out of some of the biggest winning stocks in artificial intelligence.
Other factors, such as rising bond yields, renewed inflation concerns, and developments specific to each sector, contributed to this decline.
An intense sell-off wave caused the "Big Seven" to lose more than $850 billion of their market value over five trading days, according to a report by "Analytics Insight" magazine, which specializes in technology news, as viewed by "Al Arabiya Business".
This group, which includes Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet, is now undergoing a comprehensive revaluation after having dominated the market for most of the past three years.
The concerns weigh on stocks
The decline in major technology companies' stocks was a market reaction to rising oil prices and growing fears of inflation remaining high for a longer period.
As a result, investors lowered their expectations for interest rate cuts, increasing pressure on sectors focusing on growth.
Also, the high yields on Treasury bonds affected technology stocks, as future earnings become less attractive when borrowing costs remain high. Thus, stocks closely related to long-term spending and expansion plans in artificial intelligence were among the most affected last week.
At the same time, the Nasdaq 100 entered a deeper correction phase, reflecting the overall weakness in fast-growing companies. Despite some recovery in semiconductor stocks on Friday, this rebound was not sufficient to offset the total losses for the week.
Meta and Alphabet lead the downturn
Meta recorded its worst weekly performance since October 2025, with its stock falling by more than 11%. This decline followed a historic lawsuit related to social media, where a jury found Meta and Alphabet negligent for not protecting young users on their platforms.
Alphabet also ended the week sharply lower, closing down about 9%. The court decision added new pressures on the two companies at a time when investors were re-evaluating risks in major technology stocks.
Microsoft also recorded a sharp decline, ending the week down by 6.5%. The stock is now heading towards recording its weakest quarterly performance since 2008, showing the extent to which software companies' stocks were affected during the current market reset.
Artificial intelligence research and chip concerns exacerbate the downturn
Chip manufacturing companies and stocks related to artificial intelligence faced pressures after Alphabet published new research on an algorithm designed to reduce artificial intelligence memory consumption.
This development destabilized the stocks of semiconductor-related memory, contributing to a wider weakness in the electronic chip sector.
Although stocks of Nvidia and Amazon dropped less than some of their competitors, they ended the week lower. Nvidia's stock lost about 3%, and Amazon's stock experienced a similar decline. Tesla also ended the five days down by approximately 2%.
Other names in the semiconductor sector also faced difficulties. The stocks of Sandisk and Micron remained in the red throughout the week, even after a partial recovery on Friday. Therefore, the pressures extended beyond the largest technology companies and entered the broader artificial intelligence supply chain.
Apple
Apple was the only stock among the "Big Seven" that ended the week on a slight increase. These gains came following a report indicating that the company plans to open its voice assistant "Siri" to external artificial intelligence services, beyond its current partnership with OpenAI's "ChatGPT".
However, the overall picture remains weak for this group in 2026. All seven companies' stocks have dropped this year, and all have fallen behind the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
Investors are also closely monitoring the amount of spending on artificial intelligence. It is expected that companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta will spend nearly $700 billion in capital expenditures this year, most of which are linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure. This has increased concerns about how long these investments might take to yield returns.
