October was a busy month, dominated by news around the U.S. presidential debates, a resurgent dollar, rising bond yields and gyrating oil prices.
Recent polls had suggested Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was pulling ahead in the race for the White House, which appeared to be good news for stocks, as analysts said Wall Street was betting on a Clinton win.
But news on Friday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into freshly uncovered emails as part of its investigation into Clinton's use of a private server sent equities lower as investors weighed the potential impact on her polling numbers.
The currency market has also seen big moves in October, with the dollar strengthening against a basket of major currencies. The yen pulled back to the 104 handle from 103 in recent weeks, while the euro briefly sank to the $1.08 handle from levels above $1.10, while a flash crash saw the British pound tumble from $1.2600 to as low as $1.1491 briefly.
Oil prices swung between gains and losses throughout October; prices were under pressure last week as investors doubted whether OPEC and non-OPEC members would follow through in November with a production freeze agreed in September in Algiers. On Saturday, OPEC officials meeting in Vienna failed to reach an agreement on the details of an output deal.
Meanwhile, global bond yields have been rising as traders adjusted to the prospect of the end of easy money from central banks. The U.S. 10-year treasury note yield recently reached a five-month high of 1.87 percent, while the German 10-year bund rose from 0 to 0.17 percent.
So, as October draws to a close, tell us which trade made you the most afraid.
