January was a reminder that this market has become unusually good at separating signal from spectacle.
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The headlines were loud: tariff threats tied to Greenland, renewed questions around Federal Reserve independence, sharp one-day selloffs—and just as sharp reversals. Yet by month’s end, equities were still near record territory, leadership remained intact, and volatility failed to stick.

That contrast tells the story. Investors are no longer reacting reflexively to political noise. Instead, they are focused on whether headlines interfere with rates, earnings, or capital flows. When they don’t, selloffs tend to fade quickly.

Wall Street has a superstition problem. “Octoberphobia” is the name traders give to the month’s track record of unnerving declines—the 1907 Bank Panic, 1929’s crash, 1987’s Black Monday, all etched into market lore.
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The irony? Despite the ghosts of Octobers past, the market often comes out stronger on the other side.

​This year, the fear arrives just as stocks closed out an unusually strong September, leaving investors asking whether the calendar alone can derail a bull run built on AI enthusiasm and a newly dovish Fed.

U.S. stock indices closed August with respectable gains, propelled once again by Nvidia and the AI narrative (although even as I write, the market is giving back a portion of that after the release of PCE data - more on this later).

At the same time, tariffs re-emerged as a live issue, and the Fed found itself juggling market expectations with political pressure.

The Fed’s Pivot at Jackson Hole
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For much of the year, the market has been anticipating when, and if, the Fed would begin to cut interest rates. The most significant event of the month was Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. Powell's tone signaled a green light for a September rate cut, sending stocks and bonds rallying. 

​Equity indexes closed the month on a high note, shrugging off headline risk and propped up by strong corporate profits, resilient consumer demand, and a tariff drama that never quite turned into disaster.

Corporate earnings, still early in the season, have surprised on the upside - particularly in Financials, where banks beat expectations on both top and bottom lines.

Economic data released in July painted a relatively resilient picture. Consumer spending remains robust and labor market data was steady, with unemployment still hovering near cycle lows.
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Inflation remains stubbornly above target. Manageable, yet no comfort for the Fed.  

If April was the faceplant and May was the bandage, then June was the stubborn attempt to jog again like nothing happened. And oddly, the market pulled it off – the S&P 500 hit fresh highs and breadth improved; for the first time in recent memory, gains didn’t just belong to seven mega-cap tech stocks and their AI dreams.
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That’s the headline. The fine print? Still kind of a mess. Policy whiplash, Middle East flare-ups, and a Fed that can’t decide if it’s data-dependent or data-exhausted.

​But the machines don't care. Stocks roared back. And in doing so, they quietly rewrote the story of 2025... for now.