Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The opening stock market action was mixed, but accented with some relative strength in the mega-cap space. Meta Platforms (META 643.07, +6.62, +1.0%) has been a standout there after announcing a robust $60-65 billion capex plan for 2025 that will have a focus on AI. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "This will be a defining year for AI." On that note, NVIDIA (NVDA 148.06, +0.86, +0.6%) is up modestly.

The AI growth focus has taken some of the sting out of the disappointing guidance from Texas Instruments (TXN 188.21, -12.40, -6.2% ), which has weighed more heavily on analog semiconductor companies. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is down 0.3%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the early laggard, undercut by weakness in American Express (AXP 316.11, -9.76, -3.0%), which exceeded Q4 earnings expectations but only provided in-line guidance for FY25, creating an excuse to take some money off the table after a healthy run for the stock.

In other developments, the preliminary January S&P Global US Manufacturing and Services PMI reports were mixed. Manufacturing PMI checked in at 50.1 (an expansion reading) versus the final reading of 49.4 for December. Services PMI decelerated to 52.8 from 56.8 in December.

Just in, existing home sales increased 2.2% month-over-month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million (Briefing.com consensus 4.21 million) and the final January University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment checked in at 71.1 (Briefing.com consensus 73.0) versus the preliminary reading of 74.0.