By Kyra Morris, contributing editor  | What is going on in the markets?  

* The third quarter of 2018 ended as the best quarter on the S&P 500 since 2013 – around a 7.2 percent increase.

* From Sept. 30 through Oct. 26, the S&P lost around 8.6 percent, the worst beginning of a quarter since 2008.  

Is this the October effect, or is there something substantial going on?  What are the realities?

It’s difficult to come up with convincing fundamental explanations for this poor performance.  As expected, the Feds did increase interest rates at the end of September. Investors can also purchase U.S. Treasuries yielding 3 percent.