Dow headed for best October ever

October 27, 2011, 11:48 AM

With a little more than two trading days left in the month, it is shaping up to be the best October ever for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. And that is saying something, since the Dow has existed since 1896, 115 years ago.

As of mid-day trading on Thursday, the Dow INDU is ahead more than 11% for the month. The previous record for the month of October was held by 1982, when the Dow turned in a 10.7% return. That’s an auspicious historical precedent, since that month came very early in that decade’s spectacular bull market which, arguably, didn’t end until nearly 20 years later.

The stock market’s impressive rally in recent weeks has confirmed the wisdom of those advisers who, in early October, urged investors to get a jump start on the so-called Halloween Indicator. That indicator, of course, is based on the stock market’s seasonal pattern to turn in its best returns between Halloween and the subsequent May Day. Their advice is motivated in part by the growing popularity of this indicator, which means that more and more investors are jumping the gun and not waiting until Halloween to get back into the stock market.

Those early birds have certainly gotten the worm this year.

- Mark Hulbert

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