The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that stock investors are facing a critical week, with major artificial intelligence company earnings reports posing challenges for a shaky market rally. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that concerns about weakness in technology shares have left investors worried about the AI sector's role in the four-year bull market. The AI pullback deepened on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite posting its biggest one-day drop since June. Investors were disappointed by quarterly reports from Meta and Lam Research. Meta is one of the hyperscalers spending massively to build out datacentres, while Lam is a highflying semi-conductor company, one of a group that has been among the biggest AI stock winners. Three other hyperscalers -- Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon -- headline a packed week of quarterly results, including about one-third of S&P 500 companies. Rising rates on Wednesday also could rattle markets. Alpine Macro analyst Nick Giorgi says: "There are a lot of balls in the air. Next week, you have a lot more tech earnings, and right now the market is taking a discerning eye as it relates to all the spending that goes along with artificial intelligence."