Much more “treat” than “trick”
The 2022 spooky season is not over yet, but October did bring some sweet relief to markets. Although the situation did not change fundamentally during the month, some weaker macro readings spurred hopes among market participants that central banks might refrain from overtightening and thereby avoid a hard landing. This proved enough to help stocks bounce back from deeply oversold territory. The Q3 earnings season was also an important driver of performance. Healthcare stocks gained 8.4% in October, while global equities rose 7.2%.