Markets held up in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which may have come as a surprise to some as investors digested three days worth of data in two days.
The New York Stock Exchange was closed for two days, the first time such closure has occurred since the attacks on 9/11. The S&P 500 Index was nearly flat and added only 0.2 points to end at 1412.16. With no negative or positive surprises, the markets seem to be in neutral mode ahead of the presidential election just days away.
Perhaps a bigger story that is somewhat hidden beneath the news and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is that stock indexes posted their first negative month since May, with prices on the S&P 500 down roughly 2%. Perhaps we can view this as expected since corporate earnings were not a total positive for the third quarter.
Mutual fund investors are not typically market timers but they will soon turn their eyes to the question of where to invest now after the election.