The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Feb. 25, edition that hedge funds rapidly sold off U.S. tech and media stocks over the last two weeks, the fastest pace in six months, according to Goldman Sachs, as Nvidia prepares to report earnings. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that Nvidia's profit report this week is seen as a bellwether of the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry. Nvidia is the world's second-most valuable company, with a 6.3-per-cent weight on the S&P 500. Its shares have skyrocketed over 550 per cent over the last two years. Speculators "aggressively" dumped both long and short positions in AI-related equipment, media and communications equipment companies, according to a note sent to Goldman Sachs clients on Friday. Stock hedge funds, which usually mix long and short bets in their trading strategies, last week lost money on their short wagers but made money on the parts of their portfolios holding long bets, said the note. While stockpickers finished the week flat, systematic traders returned 0.36 per cent between Feb. 14 and Feb. 20. U.S. stocks fell on Friday due to poor economic reports and the expiration of $2.7-trillion (U.S.) in options positions, which added pressure.