To The Moon

It's officially spooky season, but that doesn't mean investors need to be afraid.September is historically the worst month for the stock market, and this year proved no different. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.5% in September, its worst monthly performance since February. The S&P 500 dropped 4.9% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 5.8%, both indexes' worst month since December.There were plenty of reasons for stocks to fall. Inflation remained a top concern for investors and consumers, with oil prices rising and getting close to $100 a barrel.That plays into an equally important point. While investors had hoped that gains in the fight against rising prices might allow the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates, or even cut them next year, Chairman Jerome Powell made it clear that the central bank was going to keep them higher for longer.This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jon