The Dow just had its best month since 1976

U.S. stocks closed down Monday as investors digested this quarter's mixed earnings reports and braced for the Federal Reserve's next interest rate hike, but the major indexes ended October in positive territory and the Dow Jones Industrial Average locked in its best month since 1976. The Dow rose 14 percent in October, while the S&P 500 and tech-heaving Nasdaq gained 8 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.

Tech stocks are having a bad few weeks on disappointing earnings reports, but investors are betting that traditional stocks like banks will lead the next bull market, The Wall Street Journal reports. Mostly, though, the markets are waiting to see what Fed chairman Jerome Powell says Wednesday, after the Fed's two-day monthly policy meeting.

The central bank is expected to raise its benchmark short-term interest rate another 0.75 percentage points, but investors are looking for clues on when the Fed will ease up on its aggressive moves to tamp down the economy to fight high inflation.

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