Very interesting divergence occurring in the jobs market.  September job openings were slightly higher than expected, and at 6.09 million, it’s near the all-time high established in June.  Meanwhile, hiring has slipped to a six month low while quits are only fractionally higher.  The bottom line is this doesn’t add up. Employers are certainly being cautious and selective with respect to hiring and have learned to operate lean and mean.

Travel stocks are getting creamed today with Priceline (PCLN) down 11% on weak guidance and TripAdvisor (TRIP) getting a 20% haircut after reporting earnings. The rental car stocks aren’t fairing too much better as AVIS Budget (CAR) is down 10%.

Financials are also getting hit today along with the broad market.  The dollar however is having its best day since the middle of July, and that helping push WTI a bit lower.  Treasuries are relatively flat with the 10-year around 2.31%. 

The markets are now all trading in the red.  Decliners are leading advancers 1777/1073 on the NYSE and 2098/756 on the NASDAQ.    

Let’s not force the issue this afternoon.