Standard & Poor's, announced that the world's developed and emerging equity markets continued to post positive gains in October despite the volatility in the market. According to Standard & Poor's global stock market review, The World By Numbers, developed equity markets rose 3.40%, while emerging equity markets gained 11.07% for the month.

"Concern over corporate earnings charges placed a heavy burden on financial markets in October," says Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at Standard & Poor's. "However, with the exception of the Thrifts & Mortgage Finance sub-industry, world equity markets showed strong returns this month despite the higher volatility and uncertainty in the marketplace."

In October, 25 of the 26 developed markets increased, with Sweden coming in as the lone decliner posting a loss of -2.09%. Portugal reversed September's loss of -2.19% posting a 10.79% gain for the month, while Spain remained close behind increasing +10.28%. The emerging markets were also profitable in October, with a single loss posted by Hungary of -1.87%. Notable returns for the month were seen in Jordan (+20.37%), Indonesia (+16.52%) and China (+16.15%).

All ten sectors posted gains in October, led by Telecommunications at 6.89% and Utilities at 6.00%. Health Care showed the lowest gain with an increase of 0.88%. Looking at the sub-industries, Internet Software & Services was the best performer in October with a gain of 16.06%, while Thrifts & Mortgage Finance showed the lowest results with a 10.43% monthly loss.

Short-term U.S. interest rates declined in October, with the U.S. Federal Reserve reducing their rate by a quarter of a point on the last day of the month. Gold reached levels not seen in two decades, mostly due to the market uncertainty, and closed at US$787.80, up from September's US$735.50. Oil remained volatile and also set new record highs, closing up 15.8% at US$94.53, up from September's US$81.66.