October can be a scary month for stocks. It hasn’t been this year, though we still have to get through the last day of the month today, which also happens to be Halloween. The S&P 500 is up 4.9% so far this month following a gain of 3.0% during September. Apparently, investors have decided that they won’t allow themselves to get spooked by bad news anymore.
As a result, there hasn’t been a significant correction since June of 2012. The last time that the S&P 500 was down to its rising 200-day moving average was on November 16, 2012. It’s had lots of encounters with its rising 50-day moving average since then. That spooked some of the more bearish technicians, but it’s bounced back repeatedly. They’ve also been scared that stocks have been rising on ever-declining NYSE volume. However, that might be because the big buyers of stocks have been corporate managements buying back their own shares.
Nevertheless, today is Halloween and a good time to review some scary stories that might trip up the bull.
Today's Morning Briefing: Happy Halloween. (1) Bad news doesn’t spook investors. (2) Bearish technicians have been too panic-prone. (3) Four scary stories for Halloween. (4) Iran’s nuclear “breakout” may be imminent. (5) Israel is rattled and saber-rattling. (6) Was Obamacare designed to fail, but not so fast? (7) Reid’s confession. (8) Havoc in health care industry could depress economy. (9) No deal-makers in DC to make deals. (10) Too many bulls.
