Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened to upbeat action despite an earnings-related loss in NVIDIA (NVDA 122.17, -3.44, -2.7%). NVIDIA beat earnings estimates and raised guidance, but the report didn't live up to super-high expectations. 

Other mega cap stocks and semiconductor-related shares are climbing, though, which has offset NVIDIA weakness. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) trades 0.9% higher and the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) sports a 1.5% gain.

Many other stocks are coming along for the upside ride. The equal-weighted S&P 500 shows a 0.3% gain and nine of the S&P 500 sectors trade higher. The communication services (+1.1%), consumer discretionary (+0.9%), and information technology (+1.0%) sectors show the biggest gains.

The positive bias also follows pleasing economic data this morning. Jobless claims remain steady, below recession-like levels, and Q2 GDP was revised up.

Pending home sales dropped 5.5% in July (Briefing.com consensus 1.2%) following a 4.8% increase in June.