US stock market tumbles today; is October really Wall Street’s ‘crash month’? Here’s the timeline

US stock markets crashed sharply on Friday, October 10, after President Trump announced plans for a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese imports. The announcement ended months of relative calm in the markets, jolting investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.05 per cent to 45,873, the S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid nearly 2 per cent. By the close, the S&P 500 was down 2.7 per cent, marking its largest single-day decline since April 10.

Trump’s move came in response to China’s recent export controls on rare earth minerals critical to tech and defense industries, new port fees on American ships, and an antitrust probe into Qualcomm. While people are still in the shellshock, as nearly $1.65 trillion was wiped out from the US stock market today, The Market Matrix indicates, however, that some people on social media claimed that October is a scary month throughout history.

Is October really a “scary” month for US stock markets?

The association comes from infamous market crashes, such as the Wall Street Crash of 1929, including Black Thursday (October 24), Black Tuesday (October 29), and Black Monday on October 19, 1987. Many investors equate these events with overall market trends, fueling the belief that October is particularly bearish.


X users also summarized the downtrends in October; one user, Chris Reilly wrote, “Did you know the worst US stock market crashes of all time happened in October? There was the Bank Panic of 1907…
The Wall Street Crash of 1929…
And Black Monday in 1987, when the Dow plummeted 22.6% in one day.”

"Because of this, October is feared on Wall Street as crash month,”, the suer added.

Historic downside moves in October

Looking at extreme market volatility, October has witnessed several massive drops in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), as Barchart assembles:

• October 19, 1987: −22.6 per cent (record largest one-day change by percent)
  
• October 28, 1929: −13 per cent
  
• October 29, 1929: −12 per cent
  
• November 6, 1929: −10 per cent
  
• October 28, 2008: −11 per cent
  
• October 13, 2008: −11 per cent

These events contributed to October’s reputation as a month where investors need to brace for turbulence.

October isn’t all bad: Big gains too

However, October has also seen significant upside movements in stock history. Among the 15 days in history when the DJIA moved 10 per cent or more, eight occurred in October, with five of them being gains:

• October 6, 1931: +15 per cent
  
• October 30, 1929: +12 per cent
  
• October 13, 2008: +11 per cent
  
• October 28, 2008: +11 per cent
  
• October 21, 1987: +10 per cent

These gains show that October is not exclusively bearish but rather highly volatile, with opportunities as well as risks.

Conclusion: October is volatile month for US stocks

When evaluating October by volatility rather than direction, the conclusion is clear: it’s a “scary” month in terms of swings, both upward and downward, and the outlet termed it “volatile.”