Standard & Poor's Index Services says World equity markets lost an estimated US$5.79 trillion during October, the biggest monthly loss ever, the Associated Press reported.
The October loss eclipsed the previous record, which was set just one month earlier, when 52 global equity markets lost a combined US$4 trillion.
Through the first 10 months of the year, world markets have lost about US$16.22 trillion, according to S& P
research.
Though U.S. markets accounted for nearly 40 percent of the losses during the month, they performed better than the average world market.
The U.S. accounted for US$2.27 trillion of October's losses, as S& P's broad market index for the nation fell 18 percent. The global average decline was 20.7 percent during the month.