October – historically a spooky month for stocks – wasn’t too scary this year.
An ominous cloud typically hangs over the market in October due to the stockmarket crash of 1929, Black Monday in 1987 and the 2008 financial crisis, but stocks bucked the trend this time around.
Despite Thursday’s losses, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.8% for the month and put the blue-chip average within striking distance of a fresh all-time high. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index hit a record on Wednesday, ending October 3.3% higher, with the index up 21% in 2019. The Dow has climbed 16% so far this year.
