Just a few days ago, the Uptober narrative shattered. On October 10, a sharp, gut-wrenching sell-off gripped the markets, sending the major indices tumbling and social media into a spiral of panic.
The culprit?
Trump’s announcements of new tariffs on China, combined with resurgent inflation fears, created a perfect storm that derailed the optimistic “Uptober” script many investors had anticipated.
For a moment, it felt like the bull market of 2025 had hit a wall.
But before writing the bull market’s obituary, it’s crucial to look beyond the panic and examine the powerful, underlying currents powering this year’s historic bull run.
The Pillars of the Next Leg Up
While the headlines focus on fear, several drivers remain firmly in place, providing a strong foundation for the bull market to not only recover, but potentially accelerate into the year’s end.
1. The Liquidity Tsunami is Still Building.
Market performance is not just about earnings and interest rates; it’s about liquidity. The U.S. government unleashed trillions of stimulus dollars into the post-COVID economy, and that money is still circulating.
Much of the assets have been invested in stocks – this is why the US stock market is twice the size of what it was pre-COVID.
2. The Fed will Continue to Cut Rates.
The Federal Reserve already made its first cut in September and penciled in two more cuts for the rest of the year.
While there are signs that inflation still persists, it has become clear that the Fed’s largest concern has shifted towards unemployment. The US unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in August of 2025 from 4.2% in the previous month.
More rate cuts mean more lending to businesses and more money circulating in the economy, which is good for asset growth. Chances are investors will continue to invest in stocks and cryptocurrencies in the short term.
3. Deregulation and Pro-Growth Policies
In the past quarter, the U.S. regulatory environment has accelerated its shift toward a pro-growth, business-friendly posture. A few concrete developments illustrate the change:
- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rescinded its previous National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and replaced them with streamlined guidance for energy and infrastructure projects — reducing bureaucratic drag and delivering more predictable review timelines.
- On July 23 2025, the White House issued an executive order titled Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure. This order prioritizes rapid build-out of “qualifying projects” such as data centres (with incremental electric loads >100 MW), associated energy & transmission infrastructure, and manufacturing of semiconductors and related components.
- Furthermore, grid-system planning and investment are expanding rapidly: U.S. grid investments are expected to rise by ~23% between 2025-2030, in part driven by new demand from data centres, advanced manufacturing, and electrification.
What does this all mean?
Eliminating bottlenecks for infrastructure investments can help facilitate corporate growth:
- Firms can plan large, multi-year infrastructure and manufacturing investments with greater certainty
- Sectors such as energy, utilities, data centres, infrastructure, heavy manufacturing stand to benefit disproportionately
4. The Great American Re-industrialization
The strategic push to onshore and scale critical industries is also gaining momentum, and recent developments underscore that it’s not just a narrative — it’s happening in real-time.
Policy & investment highlights (past ~3 months):
- Nvidia unveiled its first “Blackwell” chip wafer made in the U.S. (via TSMC in Arizona) — a key milestone in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, aligning with U.S. efforts to secure its AI-/compute supply chain.
- Stellantis announced a $13 billion investment over the next four years in U.S. manufacturing, focused on boosting domestic vehicle production (creating 5,000+ jobs) and countering import tariffs — clearly reflecting the on-shoring tailwinds.
- In a strategic collaboration, the U.S. and Australia announced a joint $2 billion investment in critical minerals projects (including a gallium plant via Alcoa) – this underscores the geopolitics of industrial investment (reducing reliance on China) and the scale of cross-border manufacturing/processing moves.
This is not just a stimulus or short-term catch-up. It is a structural, multi-year investment cycle aimed at repositioning the U.S. at the commanding heights of advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy, critical minerals, and infrastructure.
The policy architecture (legislation + executive action) plus the corporate-investment response suggest the early innings of a virtuous cycle: capital → capacity → productivity → earnings → jobs.
A Bump in the Road, Not the End of the Line
The October 10th crash was a stark reminder that markets do not move in a straight line. Tariff tensions and sticky inflation are real headwinds that will cause volatility. However, to mistake a correction for a collapse is to ignore the profound structural shifts underway.
The pillars of increased liquidity, pending Fed support, a deregulatory push, and a generational re-investment in American industry form a compelling case for resilience.
The “Uptober” narrative may have been temporarily derailed, but the underlying bull market train, fueled by these powerful engines, is likely still on the tracks and preparing for its next journey higher. For investors, the recent dip may not be a signal to flee, but a strategic opportunity to board.
