October has Been a Tough Month for Stock Picking

The percent of stocks with positive performance for the month of October through last Friday stands at a paltry 15%. Granted, as of last Friday there were ten trading days left in the month, but 15% would the lowest reading since May of 2012 and September of 2011 before that. As chart two shows, only 38% of stocks are trading higher YTD, which is the lowest since 2011 and 2008 before that.