What to watch: Investors love November

The stock market survived a roller coaster ride in October, with stocks finishing the month at record highs.

November arrives with a much more investor-friendly reputation, as it's been the Dow Jones industrial average's second-best performing month the past 20 years and kicks off what historically has been the best six-month stretch for stocks.

The stock market looked like it was on the brink of a major breakdown during the trading session on Oct. 15, when the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index was down as much as 9.5% from its then-all-time high. But in a matter of two weeks, the market's major worries, such as the Ebola crisis and a global growth scare, have given way to fresh optimism, thanks to a strong third-quarter earnings season, a U.S. economy that is suddenly growing above the 3% clip considered healthy and fading fears related to the Ebola virus, which has not spread like wildfire in the U.S. as feared.

Stocks got another boost from afar on Friday, when the Bank of Japan surprised global investors by announcing a new wave of stimulus programs designed to fend off the dangerous financial world illness known as deflation.

So November kicks off with the Dow and S&P 500 at fresh record highs and the Nasdaq composite at its highest level since March 2000. The debate over whether the good times can last begins anew when trading resumes Monday and the curtain rises on market-friendly November.