US NFIB Small Business Optimism Index Falls to 97.9 in September

A one-tenth miss matters less than the direction: sentiment slipped rather than merely undershooting a consensus that was already flat. Small-business owners sit at the demand end of the real economy, so their mood is a useful, if noisy, read on hiring and capex intentions. Whether the decline extends into a second month, or reverses once the prior month's level is revised, is the open question worth tracking.