Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.5%), and DJIA (-0.5%) hold modest but relatively broad-based losses just before midday. 

A 6% slide in Bitcoin precipitated the retreat that saw the stock market open with a risk-off tune more similar to early-November sessions, before a spike in December rate cut odds boosted equities in the final sessions of the month. 

Eight S&P 500 sectors currently trade lower, with the utilities (-1.6%) and real estate (-1.1%) sectors holding the widest losses. 

The information technology sector (-0.3%) was another early laggard but has seen steady improvement. NVIDIA (NVDA 178.97, +1.97, +1.11%) provides solid leadership after announcing a strategic partnership with Synopsys (SNPS 432.28, +14.27, +3.41%), in which the companies will advance agentic AI engineering using GPUs, accelerated computing, and digital-twin technologies.

Still, mega-cap tech is mostly lower today, leading to a 0.5% retreat in the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF. 

Meanwhile, the energy sector (+1.0%) is the lone standout this morning, boosted by headlines over the weekend that OPEC+ will leave oil output levels steady for the first quarter of 2026. The price of oil is up $0.79 (+1.4%) to $59.34 per barrel. 

Outside of the S&P 500, the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.7%) underperforms, while the S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.1%) attempts to reclaim its flatline.