The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released its small-business optimism index for the U.S. on Tuesday. The index remained unchanged at 96.1 in October.

5 of 10 subindexes rose last month, three fell, while two were unchanged.

"The labour market components might have held at historically strong levels but this time owners reported no net growth in employment, which is a significant drop from reports in the previous four months," NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said.