U.S. Markets
Stocks advanced for the sixth consecutive month in October as major averages pushed through a government shutdown and trade jitters. Robust Q3 corporate results drove momentum over a month that is notorious for market declines.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 2.27% while the Nasdaq Composite rose 4.70%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.51%. It was the sixth consecutive month of stock market gains.1
Stocks Power through Shutdown
As October got underway, concerns about the government shutdown hung over trading. Markets kept one eye on the Senate, which failed to pass dueling funding bills that would have prevented the shutdown.2
Markets began to trend higher despite the Fed meeting minutes from September, which revealed somewhat divided opinions on short-term interest rates.3
The Return of Trade Jitters (Again)
The sentiment then turned negative on the second Friday of the month, following the White House’s announcement of a tariff increase on imported goods from China. The drop, led by chip manufacturers, was the largest single-day decline for stocks since April.
Stocks rebounded after the White House struck a more conciliatory tone regarding China.4,5
Three-Week Rally Wraps a Strong Month
Stocks then staged an impressive, if choppy, rebound over several days, fueled by mostly positive, better-than-expected quarterly results from a handful of major money centre banks. The gains overpowered negative sentiment around lingering trade concerns.6
Tech-led leadership took over from the financials and pushed the market higher. Mild inflation data also contributed to momentum and helped soften concerns over trade tensions with China.
The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials hit multiple all-time highs.7,8
Stocks rose again over the final week of October as investors cheered upbeat Q3 corporate results and a new trade truce with China.9
What Investors May Be Talking About in November
There’s no Fed meeting in the month ahead, so expect investors to pay close attention to any other news that may give insights into the economy.
Any updates from China, for example, might also move markets, as well as updates on agreements with countries that possess rare earth metals.
However, by mid-November, most S&P 500 firms will have reported their results, so investors can expect to react when Wall Street analysts start publishing their 2026 outlooks.
World Markets
The MSCI EAFE Index rose 1.10% in October. While it trailed all three major U.S. averages last month, the EAFE Index is still having a solid year through October.11,12
European markets were higher. The United Kingdom (+3.92%) and Spain (+3.60%) led the major developed markets. France was up 2.85% for the month. By contrast, Italy (+1.05%) and Germany (+0.32%) lagged.12
Korea (+19.94%) and Japan (+14.235) posted head-turning gains among Pacific Rim markets. Meanwhile, China’s Hang Seng Index fell 3.52%.12
The Fed
Minutes from the Fed’s September meeting were released on October 8 and showed a closely divided Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
While all but one FOMC voting member voted to lower rates at the September meeting, only a slim 10-9 majority favoured two additional quarter-point cuts through year-end. But Minutes also revealed growing concern about the labour market among Committee members.20
That concern was reflected in Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech the following week.21
As widely expected, the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates by 0.25%at the FOMC meeting on October 29.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his post-meeting press conference that another rate adjustment in December was “not a foregone conclusion.” He added that Fed policy is “not on a pre-set course.” Part of that, he said, was due to the ongoing government shutdown and the challenge in setting monetary policy without those reports.22
The Federal Reserve’s next meeting (the last one of the year) is December 9-10, when the Fed will also publish a Summary of Economic Projections.
Our blog posts are intended for information purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial advice.
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1. WSJ.com, October 31, 2025
2. CNBC.com, October 3, 2025
3. CNBC.com, October 8, 2025
4. WSJ.com, October 10, 2025
5. CNBC.com, October 13, 2025
6. WSJ.com, October 15, 2025
7. WSJ.com, October 24, 2025
8. WSJ.com, October 25, 2025
9. CNBC.com, October 31, 2025
10. Sectorspdrs.com, October 31, 2025
11. Investing.com, October 31, 2025
12. MSCI.com, October 31, 2025
13. Atlanta Federal Reserve, October 27, 2025
14. CNBC.com, October 1, 2025
15. Reuters.com, October 15, 2025
16. Institute for Supply Management, October 1, 2025
17. National Association of Home Builders, October 31, 2025
18. National Association of Realtors (NAR), October 23, 2025
19. BLS.gov, October 24, 2025
20. CNBC.com, October 8, 2025
21. CNBC.com, October 14, 2025
22. WSJ.com, October 29, 2025
23. American Farm Bureau Federation, November 20, 2025
24. AllRecipes.com, October 29, 2024
25. Campbell’s State of the Side Report, 2024
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