Market Update: November seems promising after an eventful October

Clarksville, TN – This has been an interesting month, to say the least. Not only did we mark the 83rd anniversary of the Black Tuesday stock market crash, but we also saw Hurricane Sandy shut down the New York Stock Exchange for two days during the final week of the month.

The last time a hurricane closed the NYSE was September 1985. We have to go back to 1888 for the last time markets closed on consecutive days due to weather.

Stocks opened higher after the two-day shutdown, but soon became choppy as the markets played catch-up during Halloween trading. All told, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dipped into negative territory for the month.

Not unexpectedly, home improvement companies Home Depot and Lowe’s bucked the trend and gained ground after the hurricane.

Market

	9/28/12 Close	10/31/12 Close	Gain/Loss	Change
DJIA	13,437.13	13,096.46	-340.67	-2.54%
NASDAQ	3,116.23	2,977.23	-139.00	-4.46%
S&P 500	1,440.67	1,412.16	-28.51	-1.98%

 

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index edged up over the month, but still remained below the key 50 mark for the second month in a row, which usually indicates contraction. With the unusual month behind us, the markets are looking to November, which has historically been one of the better months for the S&P 500. Market observers are also looking ahead to nonfarm payrolls data, expected to be released November 2nd, and the monthly jobs report – the last before the presidential election – which is expected to show 125,000 jobs added for October.

Of course, it stands to reason that the majority of Americans, and perhaps the rest of the world, are awaiting the election results and the impact that may have on taxes and year-end planning. We’ll continue to watch the markets closely as economic data comes in and we get an idea of the direction Washington may take.