Click here for the Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com.
Bottom Line: Market action last week was very positive as most stocks rose and volume increased. Recent gains, anxiety over the election and terrorism, worries over slowing demand from China and a spate of supply in the form of IPOs failed to send shares lower. Insurance and HMO stocks rebounded sharply after investors concluded that Spitzer's recent probe wouldn't permanently cripple the offending companies. 32 companies have made their public debuts this month, the best October for IPOs since 1999. Many have been extraordinarily successful. Moreover, it is a big positive that the overall market was able to absorb this new supply and still work higher over the course of the month. In my opinion, China's interest rate hike was more of a gesture than an escalation in the country's attempts to slow growth from current levels. However, the perception by speculators that Chinese demand for oil will slow should continue to help push energy prices lower. It is also healthy to finally see stocks with stellar earnings reports move substantially higher on the news. Finally, measures of investor anxiety were mixed on the week.
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