S&P 500 – when good jobs news becomes bad for stocks

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are at record highs, with the S&P near 7,600. On Tuesday, US data showed job openings at their highest in almost two years. In normal times that's good news. Right now it cuts the other way.

The reason is the Fed. Inflation just hit a three-year high, and the central bank is leaning toward higher rates, not lower ones. A strong job market gives it one more reason to do that. Higher rates hit expensive tech stocks hardest, and those are the same stocks that have carried this rally.

That's the odd part of this market. A healthy economy, which should help stocks, now raises the chance of a rate hike that would hurt them. "Good news is bad news," as traders put it.

Friday's jobs report is the real test. A strong number feeds the rate-hike fear. A weak one cools it, but opens a different worry about growth. Sitting at record highs, the market has more to lose from a surprise than to gain.

S&P 500 key levels:

• Resistance 7,650, then 7,700.
• Support 7,500, then 7,400.

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