Risk assets made further progress in October, with equities leading the way. Wall Street gained 2.1% and reached a new all-time high, but, as in September, the best returns came outside the US: Japan was up by 5%, Asia ex-Japan by 4.5% and emerging markets by 4.2%. Among the major markets, only the UK was down (-2.1%) as a strong rally in sterling put pressure on the big overseas earners, which dominate the UK stock market. The improved appetite for risk was reflected in bond markets, with safe-haven government bonds flat or down while credit markets produced positive returns, led by US corporate bonds up 0.6%.