Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (flat), Nasdaq Composite (flat), and DJIA (-0.1%) are steadily improving from modest opening losses. 

The broader market has a flattish tilt, with five S&P 500 sectors trading higher and losses that are modest in nature.

The energy sector (+0.8%) is on a trajectory that resembles yesterday's action, trading higher as the price of oil increases $0.35 (+0.6%) to $58.43 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the communication services sector (+0.5%) also holds a nice gain. Meta Platforms (META 667.93, +9.24, +1.40%) is a mega-cap standout after the company announced its acquisition of the Singapore-based AI startup, Manus. Elsewhere in the sector, CNBC's David Faber reported that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD 28.93, +0.14, +0.49%) is expected to reject the latest offer from Paramount Skydance (PSKY 13.53, +0.03, +0.26%). 

On the data front, the December Chicago PMI expanded to 43.5 (Briefing.com consensus 40.4) from a prior reading of 36.3.