October 2022 seems to have brought respite to many asset classes. During this time, the stock, bond or cryptocurrency markets tried to pick up, while the US dollar seemed to lose value at the same time, along with the falling VIX "fear index" contract.
Performance of key indices and companies
In October,one of the popular futures contracts, the contract for the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average index saw the biggest gains. It rose by almost 13 percent during this period. Although the month is not yet over, for the moment, only Verizon ranks in the entire index since the beginning of October with a negative result. On a monthly basis, the decline is 0.92 percent. In contrast, the biggest increase in the index was achieved by Caterpillar (up more than 30 percent). The company reported that sales and revenues in the third quarter of 2022 recorded an annual increase of 21 percent, reaching $15 billion. The company's profit was $2.04 billion, an increase of 43.13 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year, BBN reported. Operating profit rose 45.73 percent year-on-year to $2.42 billion. Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.
Source: Conotoxia MT5, Caterpillar, Monthly
DAX also with growth in October
The second popular instrument, which seemed to rebound from earlier declines, was the contract for the German DAX index. Although emerging macroeconomic forecasts for the German economy appear to be worsening, and the European Central Bank raised interest rates, the DAX rose nearly 10 percent. The company that may have gained the most was Deutsche Bank, as the month's performance was up more than 30 percent by now. The German bank reported its best results since 2016 in October. Net income for the third quarter of 2022 was €6.9 billion, up 15 percent year-on-year and the highest third-quarter income since 2016.
The dollar exchange rate fell nearly 1 percent.
Market hopes that the U.S. Fed will slow down interest rate hikes at the end of the year and in the first quarter of 2023 may have led the U.S. dollar to fall in October. At the moment, the USD index is trading 0.9 percent lower than at the beginning of the month at 111 points. The EUR/USD exchange rate is near parity at 1.0000, all likely in anticipation of the Fed's November 2 interest rate decision. The market seems to be expecting a 75bp hike to 3.75-4.00 percent, while the end of the hike cycle could be priced in at 4.75-5.00 percent in early 2023.
October's biggest declines?
It seems that among the popular contracts, the biggest drop in October may be the VIX, which fell 15 percent to 26.86 points this morning. Looking at the chart of the contract showing expected volatility on the S&P500 index, someone could see that this month's trading may have turned around at a potential resistance level.
Source: Conotoxia MT5, VIX, Weekly
Will volatility continue at lower levels in November? Here, a lot may depend on the US central bank and events in Eastern Europe.
Daniel Kostecki, Director of the Polish branch of Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service)
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