Investor Brief 29.04.25: Markets heave sigh of relief,飞机盗号软件黑产 stock prices rising again

April 29, 2025  09:19

The Armenian company Balchug Capital announced the completion of the transaction to acquire the Russian bank OOO Goldman Sachs Bank, overseen by the Goldman Sachs Group… Among companies with a capitalization of at least $10 billion, the biggest gainer last week was Vertiv Holdings, an American company engaged in the construction and maintenance of data centers and communication networks, whose shares increased by 28.68% over the past business week. The price of one share of this company reached $86.95. Next is Mobileye Global, which develops driver assistance systems and autonomous technologies, with a 28.63% increase, reaching $15.14. This top three is rounded out by the Reddit social network, co-founded by American Armenian Alexis Ohanian. This company's shares increased by 25.44%, and the price of one share is $118.10.

The top three largest-cap companies with the biggest losses last week starts off with financial services technology and payment solutions provider Fiserv, whose share price fell 14.43% to $177.53. Next was Northrop Grumman Corporation, a leading defense, aerospace, and security technology provider. This company's share price fell 10.94% to $473.20. And this top three was rounded out by AngloGold Ashanti. This gold mining company's share price fell 10.35% to $39.60.

Wall Street closed last week with positive indicators. The S&P 500 rose by 0.74%, the Nasdaq—by 1.26%, and the Dow—by 0.05%. The Russell 2000, an index of small-cap companies, recorded its best weekly increase since last November. The markets began to grow after China removed some US imports from its list of products subject to a new—125%—tariff, and, also, it became known that US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering the possibility of reducing US tariffs on Chinese goods. This has somewhat eased concerns about the US-China trade conflict. In addition, investor optimism was boosted by earnings reports from major companies. Of the 179 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results so far, 73% beat expectations. Overall, first-quarter earnings are forecast to grow 9.7% year-over-year, up from the 8% forecast in early April.

The easing of tensions was felt not only in US, but also in global markets. European shares rose for the second week in a row, and Japan's Nikkei index rose by 1.8% on Friday. Also, the US dollar strengthened again after a month of weakness, increasing by 0.07%. But gold prices, which had previously been rising as investors sought safer assets, fell by 1.7% for the week. The yield on US Treasury bonds also decreased. In general, the markets showed signs of stabilization. This week, investors are waiting for the earnings reports of large companies such as Apple and Microsoft, and these reports could be crucial in determining the sustainability of this growth.

For the first time in six weeks, US bond funds saw net inflows. Specifically, US bond funds saw inflows of $206 million last week. US mortgage funds attracted $4.84 billion, the largest weekly inflow since October 2025. Short- to medium-term US government and Treasury bond funds saw inflows of $1.59 billion. US equity funds, however, continued to see outflows—albeit at a slower pace.

Leveraged ETFs, stock-exchange-traded funds that offer returns that are several times higher than the given index for ETF owners, saw a significant increase in inflows in April. This is also a clear indicator of rising investor confidence. These funds have already attracted $10.95 billion in April, surpassing the previous five-year high of $9.2 billion set the previous month. Leveraged ETFs are seen as a strategic tool for making quick profits in rapidly changing market conditions, as they can provide significant short-term gains.

Shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, rose sharply last Friday, led by ad tech and artificial intelligence (AI) shares. Alphabet’s Class A shares rose more than 4% and surpassed $166. This rise was driven by the success of Alphabet’s AI tools, particularly its AI Overviews feature, which now has 1.5 billion monthly users just a year after its launch. The strong performance also helped other digital advertising tech shares rise, including Meta Platforms, Pinterest, Snap, and AppLovin.

Tesla shares rose 9.8% on Friday, bringing the weekly gain to nearly 18%. The shares’ rise was driven by several factors, including the US government easing some regulations on self-driving cars. In addition, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that sales of fully autonomous cars will begin in Austin by June. Musk stressed that Tesla's future largely depends on autonomous cars and humanoid robots, which he believes will make the company exceptionally valuable. The shares’ strengthening was boosted also by news that Musk intends to reduce his involvement in the Trump administration.

IBM shares fell nearly 7% last Thursday after the company said some of its US federal consulting contracts were suspended due to cost-cutting measures by the Trump administration. IBM's consulting business has faced challenges recently, but the company's software business continues to grow and generate strong profits for IBM. The company's shares have already risen about 12% this year.

The Armenian company Balchug Capital announced the completion of the transaction to acquire the Russian bank OOO Goldman Sachs Bank, overseen by the Goldman Sachs Group. This is an important acquisition not only for Balchug Capital, which carries out investments and has total assets of about $2 billion, but also for Armenian business in general, since the Goldman Sachs Group is one of the world leaders in the financial sector. Under the terms of this transaction, Balchug will acquire the OOO Goldman Sachs Bank with its license. The bank will continue its activities under a different name. Balchug has carried out a number of large transactions in the past also, including the acquisition of one of the largest shopping centers in Moscow, the Metropolis. By the way, this transaction is mentioned in the Eurasian Development Bank’s analytical report on mutual foreign direct investments in the countries of the Eurasian region—and as a factor contributing to the growth of mutual foreign direct investments of Armenia. From $62 million in 2025, they increased to $841 million by the end of the first half of 2025, increasing by more than 13.5 times.

US consumer sentiment continued to decline in April, for the fourth consecutive month. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 52.2 in April—from 57 in March. This decline reflects the growing uncertainty among US consumers, particularly about trade policy and inflation. The 12-month inflation expectations were 6.5%, down slightly from the beginning of the month—but still significantly high. And long-term inflation expectations rose to 4.4%.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has publicized its latest survey among professional forecasters, which shows that inflation in the Eurozone will be slightly higher in the short term than previously forecast, but will eventually stabilize at the ECB’s 2% target. Inflation is forecast to average 2.2% in 2025, slightly higher than the previous forecast of 2.1%. And the forecast for 2026 is 2.0%, up from 1.9% in the previous survey.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its global growth forecast for 2025, reflecting the impact of the US tariff hike. The IMF has cut its global growth forecast for 2025 by 0.5 percentage points to 2.8%, while its inflation forecast has been revised upwards to 4.3% inflation in 2025 and 3.6% in 2026.