Good Riddance To October

October lived up to its horrible billing this year.  According to CNBC the stock market lost more than 2 trillion in value in October.  It was the worst month for the S&P 500 since 2011.  Big technology companies were some of the hardest hit, losing more than 20% in the month alone.  If you go back to the middle of September, when this decline actually began, the S&P 500 is currently down about 8.5% and was down at its lows nearly 12%.  This is a fairly typical correction, although I am sure investors are in a bit of a shock at how quickly it occurred.  

Moves like are sometimes the market's way of trying to send us a message and I've given some thought as to what it may be saying.  I'm going to start discussing that with you next week.   I'll begin writing about that after Tuesday as I want to see how the elections turn out.  I for one wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans do worse than the markets currently expect.  I am not sure how investors will respond to that if it occurs so I think I'll wait till the dust settles mid-week before beginning this discussion.

The first thing we'll post on Tuesday is what I think is the highest probable trend for the markets for the rest of the year.  The chart above is from Tradingview.com although the annotations are mine.

*Long ETFS related to the S&P 500 in client and personal accounts.  Positions may change at any time without notice or publication on this blog or on any other form of media.