Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 was down more than 100 points at its low, but trades down 50 points now. The index still trades below its 50-day moving average at 5,942, shows a 0.8% decline.

The equity market has mostly traded lower in December. The S&P 500 is down 1.8% for the month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is 5.0% lower this month, and the Russell 2000 has plunged 8.9% in December. 

Declines have been fairly broad based in December, but mega caps have held up better than the "rest" of the market. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF shows a 2.3% gain since November. Only three S&P 500 sectors -- information technology (+2.4%), consumer discretionary (+3.6%), and communication services (+4.5%) -- are higher for the month, which house mega cap components.