Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.8%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.3%) are lower while the Russell 2000 (+1.0%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.8%) trade up.

Weakness in the semiconductor space, which has spilled over to the mega cap space, has weighed down the major indices. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is down 4.7%, pressured by NVIDIA (NVDA 131.13, -6.92, -5.0%) and Broadcom (AVGO 175.63, -6.68, -3.7%).

This follows a Bloomberg report that the Biden administration is looking at curbing sales of advanced AI chips to certain countries, with a focus on Persian Gulf countries. Selling increased amid another report that ASML (ASML 724.30, -147.40, -16.9%) had only half the orders expected in Q3 and sounded a cautious note about the 2025 outlook, according to Bloomberg.

The loss in the Dow is also related to a sharp decline in the largest component in the price-weighted average, UnitedHealth (UNH 561.26, -44.14, -7.3%), which reported earnings results. 

Many other stocks are trading higher, though. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) trades up 0.2% and market breadth is positive. Advancers lead decliners by a 2-to-1 margin at the NYSE and by a 4-to-3 margin at the Nasdaq. 

Bank stocks are a pocket of strength after earnings results from some names in the space. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) sports a 2.8% gain. 

Reviewing today's economic data:

• October NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing -11.9 (Briefing.com consensus 2.0); Prior 11.5