Six things investors need to know about October

October is known as a frightful month, and the reason has nothing to do with Halloween. It is the month that has contained some of the stock market's scariest days. The epic 1929 crash. Black Monday in 1987. And, freshest in everyone's minds, the tipping point in the 2008 financial crisis. But the stock market's bad October reputation is, quite simply, a bad rap. Even though the month has had five of the six worst one-day drops ever for the Standard & Poor's 500 index, that market benchmark still has averaged a 0.43% gain in October going all the way back to 1928.

1. The economy is key.

Whether October lives up to its scary reputation as a crash site or shrugs off the skeletons in its performance closet will depend on how Wall Street reacts to economic data, earnings reports and news out of the Federal Reserve, with the central bank expected to ease quantitative easing this month and set the stage for eventual interest rate increases. 

2. There is equality among industries.

October's label as a calamitous month masks another bullish aspect about the month in terms of how individual industry sectors have done. Go back to 1990 and all 10 S&P industry sectors averaged a gain in October. While technology has been the standout, another less sexy sector is emerging from tech's shadow. 

3. The big three in tech could set the tone.

Technology investors will be watching closely for earnings news and possible product launches out of the giants of the tech stock world: Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGLE) and Microsoft (MSFT), though Apple will likely be the headliner.

4. Past performance -- for once -- might actually be worthwhile.

Considering the potential for rising interest rates, mutual fund investors probably should try and figure out which funds do well in a rising rate environment. Luckily, to do that all you have to do is look at September's winning mutual funds. 

5. Profit off scary markets? Probably not.

Trying to make money off volatility? If you fall into the camp that believes this is going to be another of those Octobers when investors endure a white-knuckle ride, you might be thinking about investing in an exchange-traded note that tracks volatility in the market, hoping to make money off of big price swings. Think again.

6. Janet Yellen. TMI. Match the two.

As the Federal Reserve prepares to exit its aggressive bond-buying program this month, investors might want to stop and think about whether the central bank's openness about its plans might have been too much of a good thing. Trish Regan explains: