Global Markets
Canadian Markets
Canada’s TSX climbed on Friday, buoyed by gains in the materials sector, with gold miners posting strong gains amid rising gold prices, reflecting investor appetite for safe-haven assets amid ongoing market uncertainty. Financials, and technology shares, led by Shopify, added incremental support, although investors remained cautious due to persistent volatility in the global tech sector and ongoing concerns about stretched valuations.
American Markets
U.S., stocks finished higher in a turbulent session, supported by optimism that the Federal Reserve could ease policy with a potential interest rate cut in December, which was reinforced by 2 dovish speaking fed members. Risk assets received further support from easing bond yields, which created a risk on trade environment for the intra-day market action.
European Markets
European markets dropped, reflecting investor caution as traders reassessed the economic outlook, with the risk-off tone being amplified by rising yields and geopolitical tensions, prompting rotation out of growth sectors and into more defensive areas of the market.
U.K. equities slipped on Friday following data showing that government borrowing in October fell to £17.4 billion—£1.8 billion lower than the same month in 2024—but still above consensus expectations of £15.1 billion and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast of £14.4 billion. The higher-than-expected borrowing figure, coupled with declining retail sales and weakening consumer sentiment gauges added pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of next week’s autumn budget.
Corporate Stock News
Alphabet Inc (GOOGL)
Google will make its final plea in U.S. federal court to avoid a forced breakup of its advertising technology business after Judge Leonie Brinkema previously ruled that the company holds two illegal ad-tech monopolies. The DOJ and various states are pressing for Google to divest its AdX exchange, while Italy’s competition authority has closed a separate probe after accepting Google’s data-use remedies.
Archer Aviation Inc (ACHR) & Joby Aviation Inc (JOBY)
Joby Aviation has sued rival Archer Aviation in California state court, alleging that Archer hired a former Joby employee who brought confidential information related to strategy, partnerships, and aircraft specifications. Archer denies receiving any Joby trade secrets and says it has no deal tied to the alleged misuse of information.
Bath & Body Works Inc (BBWI)
Barclays cut its target price on BBWI to $18 from $28, citing the company’s reduction in its annual sales and profit forecast.
Blackstone Inc (BX)
Blackstone has invested $50 million in Norm AI, a compliance-tech startup also launching a law firm—Norm Law LLP—that will use the company’s AI technologies for legal services. Norm AI has raised over $140 million since 2023.
Citigroup Inc (C)
Citigroup announced that CFO Mark Mason will step down in March and will be replaced internally by Gonzalo Luchetti, who currently heads the U.S. retail division. The retail business will be restructured and integrated into Citi’s wealth management businesses, with Kate Luft and Pam Habner taking new leadership roles.
Copart Inc (CPRT)
Copart reported Q1 revenue of $1.16B, slightly below expectations, due to weaker used-vehicle demand and falling values. Service revenue rose 0.6% and vehicle sales revenue rose 1.7%, while EPS of $0.41 beat expectations of $0.39.
Dye & Durham Ltd (DND:CA)
Plantro, controlled by former CEO Matt Proud and the company’s second-largest shareholder, has proposed a C$384M takeover of Dye & Durham at C$5.72 per share in a cash-and-notes structure. The offer includes C$3.50 cash at closing and C$2.22 in 15% unsecured notes, with Plantro stating it is ready to sign immediately with no further due diligence and offering a go-shop period.
Elastic NV (ESTC)
Barclays cut its target price on Elastic to $107 from $125, following quarterly results that came in below investor expectations.
Gap Inc (GPS)
Gap beat expectations for Q3 comparable sales—up 5% versus 3.26% expected—driven by strong demand across Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic. Revenue rose 3% to $3.94B, and adjusted EPS of $0.62 topped estimates. The company reaffirmed its tariff-impact forecast and continues reducing reliance on China-sourced goods.
GE Healthcare Technologies Inc (GEHC)
GE Healthcare will acquire Intelerad for $2.3B, expanding into high-growth outpatient imaging markets and boosting recurring revenue through Intelerad’s cloud and SaaS products. Analysts say the deal should accelerate GEHC’s integration of AI algorithms into imaging products.
Intuit Inc (INTU)
Intuit forecast Q2 revenue growth of 14–15%, above expectations, reflecting strong demand for its AI-enabled financial tools. However, adjusted EPS guidance missed estimates. Q1 revenue rose 18% to $3.89B, and adjusted EPS of $3.34 beat forecasts. The board approved a $1.20 quarterly dividend, a 15% increase.
Nvidia Corp (NVDA)
Foxconn announced that its $1.4B Taiwan supercomputing center built with Nvidia will be completed by the first half of 2026. Powered by Nvidia’s Blackwell GB300 chips, it will be Taiwan’s largest GPU cluster and Asia’s first GB300-based AI data center.
Ross Stores Inc (ROST)
Barclays raised its target price on Ross Stores to $183 from $164, citing strong Q3 sales and earnings performance.
Salesforce Inc (CRM)
Salesforce is investigating “unusual activity” involving Gainsight-published applications that may have enabled unauthorized access to customer data. Salesforce has revoked all access tokens for Gainsight apps but says there is no evidence of a Salesforce platform vulnerability.
Walmart Inc (WMT)
Jefferies increased its target price on Walmart to $125 from $120 following the company’s strong third-quarter earnings results.
STA Research (StockTargetAdvisor.com) is a independent Investment Research company that specializes in stock forecasting and analysis with integrated AI, based on our platform stocktargetadvisor.com, EST 2007.
The optimism around the potential for a rate cut from the Fed is definitely shaping the market sentiment. It’ll be interesting to see how the risk-on environment evolves in December if those cuts come through.
Polishing up your market recap with sharp visuals is like adding volume to a breakout—suddenly everyone pays attention! And if designing charts or hero images isn’t your thing, a bit of AI magic can help you spin up finance-ready graphics in seconds—check out this free image generator for inspiration!
Flux 2 — Free AI Image Generator
That market recap has me feeling like the bulls just woke up from hibernation—rate-cut whispers, easing yields, and risk-on vibes all in one session. ? And if you’re already imagining how to celebrate when your portfolio finally hits a new high, you might as well level up your birthday game too. For fun, custom AI-powered birthday cards, check out this handy tool: Birthday Cards!
This whole page has me rethinking how I present my brand—suddenly a plain old tagline feels way too boring. If you’re trying to come up with something punchy and memorable, there’s a handy AI tool that can spin up slogan ideas in seconds: Slogan Generator — Free AI Slogan Maker!
This burger sounds like a blast from the past! Not sure if I’d want to flip it upside down though—don’t want my beef going on a rollercoaster ride. Oh, speaking of fun games, check out this cool wall go game for some extra entertainment!
If only cooking this burger came with a side of magic powers to keep it upside down without a mess! Imagine the culinary tricks! By the way, if you need to compress your kitchen videos, here’s a neat little Compress Video to help out.
This whole thing has me imagining my ideas jumping straight off the page and onto a movie screen—like my prompts suddenly got a director and a camera crew. If you’ve ever wished your text could turn into a full-on cinematic clip, there’s a slick Sora 2 video tool that does exactly that: SoraVideo.art — Sora 2 AI Video Generator
Solid recap—nice to see the rebound explained so clearly. Appreciate the balanced take on what’s driving the market right now. Helpful read!GPT Image 1.5[https://chatgptimage15.com](url)