Volatile month ends with market gains

U.S. stocks rallied for a second day to close out one of the worst months of the bull market on an upbeat note. The dollar added to a 16-month high and Treasury yields jumped.

The S&P 500 Index capped its biggest two-day surge since February, paring its biggest monthly decline since 2011 to 7 percent. The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 2.3 percent, but still fell the most in any month during the bull market. Megacap tech shares that bore the brunt of October’s rout paced the Wednesday rebound, with Netflix and eBay surging more than 5 percent. The FANG cohort rallied after Facebook’s earnings topped expectations.

Private payrolls data calmed nerves about the strength of the economy, lifting the dollar. Treasuries fell after the government said it will raise the amount of long-term debt it sells this quarter.

“People have been skittish over the last month and it’s been pretty volatile, it’s unnerved a lot of folks,” Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial, said in an interview. “When we see a reading today such as ADP, it further illustrates that fundamentals remain sound.”

Equity bulls will be hoping this rebound can last following a series of bounces in the past few weeks that quickly gave way to declines as some $8 trillion was wiped off stock markets globally. The MSCI AllCountry World Index has dropped almost 8 percent in October, the worst monthly performance since May 2012.

In Europe, miners and energy companies led the way as almost every sector on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed. Italian bonds bucked a decline as the riskon mood sent core European debt lower. The euro drifted down as inflation accelerated in October and underlying price pressures increased, handing policy makers a headache after growth data disappointed. The pound rebounded after Tuesday’s slump.