The most popular stocks and funds investors bought in October

An easing of US-China trade tensions and strong company earnings boosted markets in October, though fears of an AI bubble also created some nervousness.

Talk of a stock market bubble centred around AI ramped up last month as the latest earnings season kicked off, due to concerns about the rapidly rising valuations of major tech companies.

These worries appeared to still be front of mind for investors when the Magnificent 7 reported their quarterly earnings at the end of the month, as shares in Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) fell following the release of their results. Both companies flagged even higher spending around AI.

At the end of the month, the US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 0.25% to a range of of 3.75% to 4.00%. Fed chair Jerome Powell said in press conference following the central bank meeting last week that another rate cut in December is "not a foregone conclusion – far from it", dampening hopes of a reduction next month.

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In addition, US president Donald Trump and China's president Xi Jinping agreed to a year-long trade truce at a meeting in South Korea, providing some relief to investors.

Aaron Hussein, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said: "Although no formal agreement was reached, the more constructive tone marked a shift from the heightened rhetoric earlier in the month, which had triggered the largest one-day decline in US equity markets since the Liberation Day announcements in April."

The US S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended October up 2.3%, while the UK FTSE All-Share (^FTAS) climbed 3.7% over the month, according to JPMorgan's monthly market review. The MSCI Europe ex-UK index rose 2.1%, while the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index gained 4.5% and Japan's Topix (TOPIX100.T) advanced 6.2%.

Most popular stocks in October

A mix of Mag 7 giants and FTSE 100 (^FTSE) blue chip stocks were the most popular stocks last month for UK investors using Interactive Investor, Robinhood (HOOD), Bestinvest and AJ Bell's (AJB.L) platforms.

Here's more detail on some of the stocks that proved most popular in October, according to investment platform data.

Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia (NVDA) featured on the lists of Interactive Investor, Robinhood and Bestinvest. Shares in the chipmaker jumped to fresh highs towards the end of the month, as it became the first company to be valued at over $5tn (£3.82tn).

The rally in shares came after Trump suggested that Nvidia's (NVDA) AI Blackwell chip could be discussed in this meeting with Xi, though the US president said after the summit that this wasn't covered in the talks. He did indicate, though, that there was a broader discussion about semiconductors.

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Nvidia (NVDA) shares were also trading higher after CEO Jensen Huang announced a slew of partnerships at the company's GTC event in Washington. This included a $1bn investment in Finnish telecommunications company Nokia (NOKIA.HE), as well as work with the US Department of Energy, Uber (UBER), Palantir (PLTR) and Oracle (ORCL).

NasdaqGS - Nasdaq Real Time Price•USD

(NVDA)

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188.08

-7.13

(-3.65%)

At close: November 6 at 4:00:00 PM EST Advanced Chart

Legal & General (LGEN.L)

Another stock that featured across three top 10 lists was FTSE 100-listed (^FTSE) insurer Legal & General (LGEN.L).

Shares are trading just under 4% in the green year-to-date and have struggled to recover from a sharp drop in August.

In a recently published deep dive on its retail business, L&G (LGEN.L) offered a group trading update, saying that it was on track to deliver core operating earnings per share (EPS) growth at the higher end of its 6% to 9% range.

In first-half results, released in early August, the company reported 9% growth in core operating EPS at 10.94p.

B&M European Value Retail (BME.L)

General merchandise and grocery discount retailer B&M European Value Retail (BME.L) also made three platform's most popular stocks lists in October.

That includes Interactive Investor's list, and the platform's head of investment Victoria Scholar pointed out that B&M's shares have fallen by around 50% over the past six months, saying that this had prompted "opportunistic investors to buy its shares at a discount".

Read more: UK dividends fall as share buybacks drag on growth outlook

Shares in the company, which operates the B&M Stores chain, fell in mid-October after the company lowered its profit outlook for the year following an accounts error.

In an update on 20 October, B&M (BME.L) said that £7m ($9.2m) of overseas freight costs had not been correctly recognised in cost of goods sold, following an operating system update earlier this year.

As a result, the company said it had reduced its guidance for adjusted earnings before, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to a range of £470m to £520m for the year, down from a previous estimate of £510m to £560m.

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(BME.L)

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164.90

-3.50

(-2.08%)

At close: November 6 at 5:33:02 PM GMT Advanced Chart

BP (BP.L)

Oil major BP (BP.L) featured on Interactive Investor and Bestinvest's most popular stocks lists in October.

Scholar said that BP (BP.L) was a new addition to Interactive Investor's list, "with investors potentially looking to purchase shares ahead of its third quarter earnings".

BP (BP.L) shares are up 17% year-to-date and in results released on Tuesday, the oil giant beat profit estimates in the third quarter. The company posted underlying replacement cost profit – its preferred measure for net income – of $2.21bn in the third quarter which topped expectations of $2.02bn, according to consensus figures provided by BP.

Read more: BP tops third quarter profit estimates and announces $750m share buyback

The company also said it intended to execute another $750m in share buybacks prior to fourth quarter results.

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(BP.L)

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458.70

-2.60

(-0.56%)

At close: November 6 at 5:31:05 PM GMT Advanced Chart

Tesla (TSLA)

Electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla (TSLA) was among the most popular stocks for investors using Interactive Investor and Robinhood's platforms.

Tesla (TSLA) shares are trading 10% in the green year-to-date, rebounding after the stock faced pressure amid falling sales and backlash against CEO Elon Musk's political activities.

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In results released at the end of October, Tesla (TSLA) missed earnings expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.50 for the third quarter versus estimates of $0.54.

However, third-quarter revenue of $28.01bn came in ahead of expectations of $26.27bn, as per Bloomberg consensus estimates.

Dan Lane, lead analyst at Robinhood UK, said: "It was a mixed month for Tesla (TSLA) as profits just fell by more than a quarter, even with record vehicle deliveries as US buyers rushed to buy electric vehicles before tax credits ran out."

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(TSLA)

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445.91

-16.35

(-3.54%)

At close: November 6 at 4:00:00 PM EST Advanced Chart

The most popular funds in October

Getting exposure to precious metals remained a key theme in October's most popular funds lists. The iShares Physical Gold (SGLN.L) exchange traded commodity (ETC) featured on both Interactive Investor and AJ Bell's lists, while the Invesco Physical Gold ETC (SGLD.L) was on Bestinvest's list. In addition, iShares Physical Silver ETC (SSLN.L) was also on the Interactive Investor list.

ETCs are an exchange-traded product that allow investors to track the performance of a physical commodity.

Alex Watts, senior investment analyst at Interactive Investor, said: "Gold (GC=F) and silver (SI=F) saw 5th/6th consecutive months of positive returns (US dollar terms) in spite of mid-month drawdowns."

"Both metals produced returns well above those of equity markets in 2025 against a backdrop of increasing central bank and broader investor allocation."

Investors also continued to back growth-style investments through passive exposure to tech stocks, with the Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust (0P000023MW.L) featuring on each platform's list. The fund has generated a return of 14% year-to-date, pretty much level with a 14.3% gain from its benchmark.

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