The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended October 30th, 2026, stocks mixed but ultimately lower globally. Bonds were higher for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) rose 0.4% with yields falling; the 10-year US treasury yield decreased to 4.93%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• US indices rose on Monday with not much data to react to. Tech led the broader market higher after Anthropic filed its Initial Public Offering.
• The buying continued on Tuesday after some mixed economic data. Building permits came in below forecasts, but consumer confidence and new home sales were well ahead. Investors were looking forward to the Federal Reserve's rate decision on Wednesday.
•  Indices wavered on Wednesday, but ultimately ended higher as Federal Reserve Chairman Warsh delivered what was expected - they left rates unchanged, but are watching inflation. He would not commit one way or the other about a rate hike in December.
• Stocks were mixed on Thursday. In the US, investors continued to shun Tech stocks after Google's big earnings miss. There was not much reaction to September's inflation reading coming in right on forecasts.
• Friday ended the week on a decidedly sour note. Tech stocks led a big sell-off after Amazon's and Intel's results Thursday evening. Amazon held up relatively well, down "only" 1.41%, but Intel shares plummeted by 28.58% (source: Yahoo Finance). Fears about the magnitude of AI spend are bubbling up again after Amazon followed Google's negative free cash flow with its own report of the same.
• Next week will be sparse, but important. The biggest data release will be Friday's all-important October jobs report. But nothing will get investors' attention until after Tuesday's mid-term elections. On the earnings front, we will get reports from, among others, Apple, Palantir, and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices).

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, Non-US Developed was this week's winner and the only positive return geographically. Emerging Markets came in a distant last, falling more than 2%. Within the US, the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average held up far better than its Tech-heavy counterpart, the Nasdaq. From a factor perspective, all factors except Momentum in the US beat the broader S&P 500.

In The News

Schwab's outlook on the midterms and more.

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/schwab-strategists-see-gov-t-shutdown-looming--say-senate-control-is-toss-up-88976.html?section=43&utm_source=FA+Magazine&utm_campaign=a56cc68c89-FAN_FA+News_FS+%233_Northern+Trust+11%2F5_102826&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-02ce404ce3-625981838

Another piece on how stocks fare after midterm elections.

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/stocks-have-risen-in-84--of-midterm-election-novembers--morningstar-says-88918.html?section=43

Why has gold fared so poorly?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-gold-plunged-to-its-lowest-price-in-a-year-despite-renewed-iran-jitters-365be0e2?mod=home_lead

Disclosures

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated performance level(s). Moreover, you should not assume that any of the above content serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Metric Financial.

All data and performance information sourced from investing.com and MarketWatch, unless otherwise indicated.

USA is the MSCI USA index, Non-US Developed is the MSCI EAFE index, Emerging Markets is the MSCI Emerging Markets index, and All Country World is the MSCI ACWI index. One cannot invest in an index. Because the factor indexes have varying inception dates, some of the returns provided are back-tested and do not represent actual performance. Inception dates are as follows:

Momentum = MSCI ACWI Momentum NR USD Index (Inception: 11/30/95)

Value = MSCI ACWI Enhanced Value NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/15)

Quality = MSCI ACWI Quality NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/92)

Low Volatility = MSCI ACWI Minimum Volatility (USD) NR USD Index (Inception: 5/28/93)

Size = MSCI ACWI Risk Weighted NR USD Index (Inception: 4/6/11)

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All written content is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Metric, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.