Risk appetite deteriorated in October amid a raft of disappointing earnings results, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and an explicit tightening bias at global central banks. Notably, some uninspiring earnings results in the megacap technology space stoked concerns over the sustainability of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) trade – and particularly regarding whether the revenues generated from the massive spending binge will be enough to justify the sky-high valuations. At the same time, escalating hostilities in the Middle East pushed oil prices markedly higher and revived inflation concerns – adding to investors’ unease last month.