US markets snapped a month-long winning streak and fell back by three percent while UK, European and Asian markets were up strongly. The negative sentiment in the US centered on the prospects for tech stocks, and the Nasdaq was down almost 6% with market heavyweights Apple, Google, and Amazon down by around 10% as investors fretted over the dual headwind of declining earnings and higher interest rates

Markets capped a very strong month with a strong week and for an apparent kaleidoscope of reasons including not as dismal as expected earnings, anecdotal evidence of slowing inflationary pressures in the US and even some economic resilience in recession bound and energy starved Europe. Against these ‘almost positives’ there was enough in the news to make a 10% rise in markets during October seem improbable on the face of it - including an overall increase in inflation (and medium-term interest rate expectations), tightening US dollar liquidity conditions, a deepening of economic woes in China (not to mention the geopolitical implications of a harder line Chinese Communist party after the recent 5 year congress ) and an ever more belligerent Russian leadership.