Oil Inventories See Major Draw, Bank of Canada Cuts Rates and Outlook, While Tech Giants Get Price Target Boosts

Energy Markets - U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 6.858 million barrels, significantly more than the previous week's drop of 961,000 barrels and contrary to expectations of a 1.203 million barrel increase, indicating strong demand or supply tightening [2][3] - The key storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, saw an increase in crude oil inventories by 1.334 million barrels, reversing the prior week's decrease of 770,000 barrels, suggesting potential volatility in crude oil prices [3] Central Banks - The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, marking the second consecutive cut, and revised down its economic growth forecasts for 2025 to 1.2% (from 1.8%) and for 2026 to 1.1% (from 1.8%), primarily due to U.S. trade policies and tariffs [4] - The European Central Bank is expected to maintain its interest rates unchanged, with inflation around the 2% target, as policymakers await new data [5] Technology Sector - BofA Global Research raised price targets for major tech companies: Tesla (TSLA) to $471 from $341, Apple (AAPL) to $320 from $270, and Nvidia (NVDA) to $275 from $235, citing lower cost of equity capital and advancements in AI initiatives [6][7] E-commerce Sector - Wix announced a strategic partnership with PayPal to become a key partner for PayPal's new agentic commerce platform, enabling AI-powered product discovery and checkout for Wix merchants [8][9] Real Estate Market - U.S. Pending Home Sales remained flat month-over-month in September at 0.0%, missing the estimated 1.2% increase, although year-over-year sales increased by 1.5% [11] Geopolitical Developments - The U.S. Treasury issued a license for Rosneft's German arm, providing a temporary reprieve from sanctions, with a six-month deadline for Germany to resolve the ownership status of the Russian oil company's assets [12]