Stocks end dismal month as strong day caps off big week

— -- It would be an understatement to say that October lived up to its billing as a scary, scary time for investors. The key question, though, is whether it will live up to its reputation as a "bear market killer."

Not unlike famous October crashes that occurred in 1987 and 1929, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged by as much as 24.7% at one point this month from its September close. On Friday, the Dow climbed 144.32 points to 9,325.01, putting it down 14.1% in October for its worst monthly performance in more than 10 years.

"What else can you say but good riddance," noted Sam Stovall, the chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor's in a report titled Goodbye Shock-tober.

The market's stats during the month of October were unnerving:

• Paper losses in U.S. stocks came to $2.5 trillion for the month, according to the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index, which represents nearly all stocks traded in America.

• During the week of Oct. 10, the Dow plunged 1,874.19 points, or 18.2% to finish at 8,451.19, its lowest close since April 2003. The week's decline accounted for half of the blue chips' losses for the entire year.

• The Dow fell for eight straight sessions — the longest losing streak since the eight days of declines following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when the blue chips lost 1,038.12, or 10.8%. It lost a staggering 2,400 points, or 22.1%.

• The market's volatility was so intense that there were just three days during the month that the Dow didn't rise or fall in triple digits. The Dow set records for one-day point gains, 936.42 and 889.35, and for one-day point losses, 777.68 and 733.08.

But the way stocks finished the month may be a sign of better days to come.

Indeed, investors are hoping that the Dow, which on Friday posted its first back-to-back gains since late September, could signal that this October might also mark the end of another brutal bear market.

The Dow is currently 14.1% above its Oct. 27 closing low of 8175.77. And, more important, nearly 1,443 points, or 18.3%, above its Oct. 10 intra-day panic low of 7882.51.