Global stocks ended a grim October on a brighter note, as corporate earnings on both sides of the Atlantic tempted investors back into a market beset by worries over rising interest rates, trade tensions and a slowing global economy.
The FTSE All-World index recovered 1.3 per cent on the final trading day of what has been the worst month for equities in more than six years, as investors drew comfort from still-strong corporate profits and went hunting for bargains in beaten-down technology stocks.
Markets have been wracked by a series of concerns this month, ranging from a peak in corporate earnings to the receding tide of global monetary policy stimulus. Those factors have sent FTSE’s global benchmark tumbling 7.6 per cent in October and left a third of the index members nursing at least a 20 per cent decline for the year.