Up:

Arcellx +77.49%: Gilead has announced its intent to acquire the biotech firm for USD 115 per share, representing a 79% premium. The transaction is valued at EUR 7.8 billion and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.

Circle Internet +32.4%: The company is capitalising on the increased circulation of its flagship stablecoin, USDC, driven by favorable regulations for dollar-pegged digital assets. Total revenue and reserve income surged by 77%, outperforming analyst consensus.

Keysight +26.19%: Bolstered by new announcements regarding advancements in 6G research, the group published strong results. Revenue grew to USD 1,600 million, up from USD 1,298 million a year earlier.

Axon +25%: The body-worn camera and safety specialist bounced back, posting a net profit of USD 2.74 million, far exceeding the USD 5.67 million loss anticipated by the consensus. The backlog reached USD 14.4 billion, a 43% increase.

IONQ +20.28%: Shares rose following the release of sharply improved results, with revenue for the three months ending December 31 nearly sextupling. The company was also selected to support the Missile Defense Agency’s Shield IDIQ contract.

Down:

Diageo -10.18%: The new CEO of the spirits giant has halved the dividend, revised the outlook downward, and warned of a potential price war. The contagion hit Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau, which both tumbled on fears of widespread margin erosion.

Mercado Libre -11.98%: Latin America’s leading online marketplace posted mixed results. Heavy spending on advertising and logistics, alongside credit provisions, weighed on profitability, dragging the operating margin down to 10.1%.

Oxford BioMedica -16.29%: The board rejected an offer from EQT, deeming it insufficient in light of surging revenue and a robust outlook for viral vectors.

Zoom Communications -18.11%: The video conferencing provider missed EPS consensus, reporting USD 1.44 against a target of USD 1.49. A USD 2.2 million stock sale by the CEO further weighed on the shares amid already fragile sentiment.

First Solar -18.47%: The solar panel manufacturer plunged following sales forecasts that missed the mark, hampered by a sector already slowing due to high interest rates. Revenue guidance coming in USD 1 million below consensus disappointed the market.

Whirlpool -19.01%: The global leader in major home appliances launched an USD 800 million capital raise to repay its revolving credit facility. The company initiated underwritten public offerings of common stock and depositary shares.

Energy: The oil market continues to dance to the tune of nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran. Crude prices endured a volatile week, torn between hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough and the lingering threat of military escalation. The week concludes on a relatively stable note, with Brent trading around USD 73 and WTI near USD 67.30. High-level talks in Geneva between Washington and Tehran are dominating the headlines. While reported progress has temporarily dialled down the geopolitical risk premium, uncertainty remains the prevailing sentiment. President Donald Trump is maintaining significant military pressure in the region, demanding a total cessation of uranium enrichment by Iran. For its part, Tehran refuses to abandon its nuclear programme entirely. A diplomatic accord could trigger a sharp correction in prices, whereas a breakdown in talks followed by US military action would heighten the risk of supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Technical discussions are expected to resume next week in Vienna. On the fundamental front, US inventories surged spectacularly by 16 million barrels, marking the largest weekly build in three years. This accumulation was driven by a spike in imports, falling exports, and reduced refinery runs. These figures confirm that the physical market remains well-supplied, if not in surplus. Despite this backdrop, OPEC+ appears poised to pivot. At its meeting scheduled for this Sunday, 1 March, the cartel is expected to approve a production increase effective from April.

Metals: Gold continues its ascent to USD 5,200, establishing a comfortable foothold above the psychological USD 5,000 per ounce threshold. As we have frequently noted in these columns, this rally is underpinned by safe-haven demand, which remains the primary catalyst for the upside. Persistent tensions between the US and Iran, notwithstanding the ongoing talks in Geneva, continue to fuel the geopolitical risk premium. In tandem, the ambiguity surrounding US trade policy and tariffs is bolstering the appeal of precious metals. Finally, retreating US Treasury yields have lowered the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Regarding industrial metals, traders are closely monitoring data out of China following the post-Lunar New Year reopening. LME copper remains largely stable, with cash prices hovering around USD 13,300 per tonne.

Soft commodities: Cocoa prices continue their downward spiral in the United States. Global prices have slipped below the USD 3,000 per tonne mark, hitting their lowest levels since April 2023. The decline has been nothing short of dizzying, with prices shedding 50% since 1 January. This weakness stems from improving weather conditions in West Africa, which have boosted supply just as demand begins to soften. In Chicago, wheat maintains its positive momentum, trading at 587 cents per bushel (May 2026 contract). Corn is also trending higher, reaching 447 cents.

Macro: The Nvidia magic failed to materialise. Even more concerning, after an initial positive reaction to results that were nothing short of stratospheric, investor anxieties resurfaced, dragging the stock down by more than 5% at the close. This has naturally weighed on the Nasdaq and, to a lesser extent, the S&P 500, which remains trapped in a narrow horizontal consolidation range between 7,000 and 6,790. Yet beneath the surface, the outlook is not entirely bleak. Sector rotation remains in full swing, favouring "value" stocks as well as mid and small caps. Other markets, notably emerging economies, are capitalising on this shift to build momentum. Government bonds are viewing these developments with relative indifference: the US 10-year yield has even allowed itself the luxury of returning to its late-2025 lows near 3.99/3.95%. A break below this level would open the door to 3.60%.

Crypto: Bitcoin’s decline continues this week, marking its sixth consecutive weekly drop. Falling 2.30% since Monday, it has slipped back below the USD 66,000 mark. As in previous weeks, the drivers behind this retreat remain unchanged: technology stocks continue to struggle, and cryptocurrencies, which trade in a similar vein but with far greater volatility, are seeing their positions liquidated across portfolios. Flows into Spot Bitcoin ETFs illustrate this trend: total assets under management fell by a further USD 200 million to USD 85 billion, representing a slump of over 50% since October 2025. The total crypto market valuation has returned to around USD 2,250 billion, a level not seen since late 2024. Among other major cryptocurrencies, Ether (ETH) is stagnating around USD 1,950, as is Solana (SOL) at USD 82, while XRP (XRP) has retreated 1.74% to USD 1.36.