The S&P 500 (SPX) index slipped 0.07% on Tuesday following the release of the October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report. That report surprised experts, with job openings increasing by 372,000 from September to 7.74 million in October, as compared to estimates of 7.52 million. On a year-over-year basis, job openings increased by 941,000.
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To go along with that, hires fell slightly month-over-month while also experiencing a 501,000 drop compared to October 2023. On the flip side of that, quits increased by 228,000 from September to 3.3 million in October. However, quits were still down 308,000 year-over-year.
How This Affects the S&P 500 Market Index
The JOLTS report is one of the key factors that the Federal Reserve uses to measure the economy. With an interest rate cut on the table this month, the results of this report are incredibly important to the central bank and the stock market.
Considering the October JOLTS report saw job openings increase beyond expectations, as well as increasing quits, this could be a sign of strong worker confidence. The Federal Reserve may see this resilience as a sign that it can move forward with an interest rate cut.
Investors appear to be on the same page as bets put a 69% chance on the Fed cutting interest rates next month. They’ll find out for sure during the next meeting of the central bank, which is set for December 18.
Should Investors Buy S&P 500 Stocks?
With the S&P 500 sliding lower today, stock market investors may be interested in stocks showing resilience to this drop. Checking out the TipRanks Heatmap of the S&P 500, Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META), Amazon (AMZN), Eli Lilly (LLY), and Walmart (WMT) stand out as stocks that are still up despite today’s jobs report.
