Stocks Inch Higher After Job Openings Data

Sevasti Balafas, CEO at GoalVest Advisory, gives her outlook on the markets ahead of the FOMC's final meeting of the year, and how she is advising clients heading into 2026.

Stocks struggled to make headway as traders held off from making big bets ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final interest-rate decision of 2025.

S&P 500 clung to small gains after better-than-expected job openings data for October. The number of available positions climbed to 7.67 million, a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.12 million. The rate on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to around 4.18% while the dollar was little changed and Bitcoin reversed early losses.

At an event Tuesday, Kevin Hassett, the frontrunner in Donald Trump’s search to replace Jerome Powell, said he sees plenty of room to substantially lower rates, even more than a quarter-point cut.

“If the data suggests that we could do it, then — like right now — I think there’s plenty of room to do it,” he said during the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit.

Money markets see around two cuts in 2026 after a likely quarter-point reduction tomorrow — a retreat from more optimistic forecasts in recent weeks.

“If the Fed is too hawkish, we expect the White House to soon announce Powell’s replacement,” said Fundstrat’s Tom Lee. That would be a “market clearing event,” in his view.

Money markets see around two cuts in 2026 after a likely quarter-point reduction tomorrow — a retreat from more optimistic forecasts in recent weeks.

Tom Essaye pointed to the risk of a hawkish cut, where the Fed lowers interest rates but signals it’s done with rate cuts for the moment.

“It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that the rate cut is actually the least important part of this meeting,” said the founder of The Sevens Report. The market “cares much more that the Fed signals it will continue to cut rates and does not signal a pause in the rate-cut cycle.”

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