October is here, plus the fourth quarter officially kicks off Tuesday —and investors should brace for a wild ride, according to one strategist.
“What has us worried this October is the fact that September this year was historically calm. If we know one thing, it is that markets don’t stay calm forever and after a dull market last month, we could be due for some usual October volatility.” LPL Financial’s Ryan Detrick wrote in an email. Strategists warned that September is typically the worst month for stocks, but relative to expectations, all three of the major indices managed to eke out gains to close the month.
Detrick noted that September didn’t see any 1% drops and only two 1% gains. That lack of volatility may spread into October, he explained.
Tuesday’s earnings schedule remains light with StitchFix (SFIX) reporting results after the market close. Analysts are expecting the online clothing subscription company to report adjusted earnings of 4 cents per share on $431.56 million in revenue.
Economic data
Meanwhile, on the economic data front, investors can expect key readings on the manufacturing activity in September from Market Economics and the Institute for Supply Management. Economists polled by Bloomberg predict a reading of 50.3 for ISM manufacturing data in September, up from 49.1 in August. The ISM's manufacturing gauge in August turned into contractionary territory for the first time since the financial crisis.
Other notable economic data set to be released include Markit US Manufacturing PMI, September final (51.0 expected, 51.0 prior); ISM Prices Paid, September (50.5 expected, 46.0 in August); Construction Spending month-on-month, August (0.4% expected, 0.1% in July).
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Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.
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