Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened lower at the index level. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average trade slightly below their prior closing levels while the Nasdaq Composite underperforms, trading 0.4% lower, due to weakness in mega caps. 

Market breadth is positive despite index losses. Advancers lead decliners by a nearly 2-to-1 margin at the NYSE and by a 4-to-3 margin at the Nasdaq. 

Five S&P 500 sectors are higher led by health care (+1.0%) and real estate (+0.7%). The consumer discretionary sector shows the largest decline, down 0.9%.

The final University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for December held steady at 74.0 (Briefing.com consensus 74.2) from the preliminary reading. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 69.7.

The key takeaway from the report is the understanding that consumers are expecting future price increases for large purchases, which is driving a pickup in current buying conditions.