The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) shed about 130 points, or 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) fell 1%. Equity markets are still rounding out the month higher after a brutal September slump. The Dow ended October with a 13.96% gain, its best monthly gain since January 1976 and the 10th best month of the last century, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group. The next Federal Reserve policy announcement on Wednesday and October’s monthly jobs report on Friday will determine whether the tailwind continues to push stocks forward through the rest of 2022. U.S. Central Bank officials are poised to raise the Fed’s benchmark interest rate by another 0.75%, but some analysts believe it could be the last outsized hike before officials back off on tightening plans. Pantheon Economics chief economist Ian Shepherdson said with core CPI and payrolls gains still high at an average of 372,000 in the third quarter, investor expectations that policymakers will continue to raise interest rates in next year are justified. “But we’re seeing enough straws in the wind now to believe that the economy is at a real inflection point, while investors are putting too much emphasis on the data, which right now seems to suggest that growth is holding up well,” he said. WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 14: US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell attends an IMFC (International Monetary and Financial Committee) meeting at the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank at IMF headquarters on October 14, 2022 in Washington, DC , DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) “We doubt President Powell’s tone will change significantly this week, but he won’t be able to stem the tide if the numbers change,” Shepherdson added. Elsewhere on Monday, President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech at 4:30 p.m. ET citing “reports in recent days of major oil companies making record profits even as they refuse to help lower prices for the American people. ” the White House said in a statement. The story continues The Labor Department’s jobs report is expected to show monthly payrolls fell below 200,000, a big drop from the 400,000 average for much of the pandemic recovery, but still close to the pre-pandemic monthly average. Economists expect 190,000 jobs were added or created last month, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. And on the earnings front, companies are still reporting third-quarter results. Of the S&P 500 companies reported so far, net profit margin for the index is 12%, which is lower than last quarter’s net profit margin and lower than last year’s net profit margin, but higher than the five-year average net profit margin of 11.3%. Analysts at Bank of America said in a note that year-to-date earnings continued to “defy calls for a recession,” with many corporate metrics still beating expectations. Mega-caps, however, were an exception to that sentiment this quarter. The data showed that third-quarter results marked the worst earnings season on record for the large-cap giants after one of their best seasons last quarter. Shares of Facebook parent Meta ( META ) fell to their lowest close since 2015, retreating from a post-earnings sell-off. — Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc Click here for the latest Yahoo Finance platform stock trends Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including the events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn and YouTube
