Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (flat), Nasdaq Composite (-0.3%), and DJIA (+0.2%) had another subdued opening as the market continues to move sideways ahead of the December FOMC decision this afternoon. 

Gains at the index level are hampered by a 0.6% dip in the information technology sector, which is the widest loss across the eleven S&P 500 sectors. Microsoft (MSFT 480.84, -11.18, -2.27%) is a laggard across mega-cap names (the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is down 0.2%), and Intel (INTC 39.59, -0.91, -2.24%) is a laggard among chipmakers (the PHLX Semiconductor Index is also down 0.2%). 

Only the utilities (-0.4%) and communication services (-0.3%) sectors join the technology sector in negative territory, while eight sectors trade higher. 

Meanwhile, the industrials sector (+0.9%) tops the early leaderboard, supported by a sharp gain in GE Vernova (GEV 713.67, +88.37, +14.13%) after the company reaffirmed its FY25 guidance, provided FY26 guidance, and raised its multi-year financial outlook. The company also doubled its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share and increased buyback authorization to $10 billion. 

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.7%) holds a similar gain, supported by strength in Amazon (AMZN 231.14, +3.22, +1.41%) and a rebound in homebuilder names after some weakness yesterday.