Well that was easy... When does this mouth snap shut? Japan wins October... with only two down days all month (the first -0.4% and the 2nd last night -0.003%!)...NKY's best month since Oct 2015 S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq's best month since February, Trannies were the only major index red with Small Caps bouncing back green today... This is the 7th straight monthly advance for the S&P 500 (and Dow) (Last 7 mth, May 2013. Last 8 mth, Jan 2007. Last 9, Mar 1983).. and 11th of the last 12 months up... h/t @JohnKicklighter Tech, Utes, and Financials outperformed in October... Retailers lagged... FANG Stocks surged almost 8% in October - 2nd best month ever... TSLA ended the month -3%... AMZN up 15% Another ugly day for Under Armour... to the lowest since April 2013... It was a big month for other assets too... Dollar Index rose 1.7% in October - best month since Nov 2016 Bitcoin surged 52% in October to a new record high 2Y Treasury yield rose 11bps in Oct, 2nd monthly rise in a row to highest monthly close since Sept 2008 TSY 5s30s curve flattened for 3rd month in a row to flattest monthly close since Oct 2007 WTI Crude's highest monthly close since June 2015 (up 2 months in a row) Gold's first consecutive monthly drop since Dec 2016 Stocks bounced back from yesterday's dip with Small Caps outperforming today and Nasdaq since Friday VIX hit a 9 handle early on... bounced... then was pushed back down a 9 handle in the last hour...before rising once again... Treasury yields were mixed today (long-end outperforming), echoing the month of October (2Y +11bps, 30Y +1bps) With the yield curve starting to re-accelerate flatter... The Dollar Index surge in October but has fallen the last 3 days... Driven by slump in CAD (offset by strength in CNY)... Bitcoin hit a new record high today after news of a Bitcoin Futures contract broke... Copper and Crude ended October up 5.3% - oddly the same - with silver and gold stuck at the flatline... Just one last thing... While US equity markets had a big October run... all the major US equity indices implied vols rose on the month... led by Small Caps... And remember - October was all about China...