Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (-0.1%) have spent the morning in close proximity to their flatlines as the stock market navigates another session devoid of meaningful catalysts. The small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.3%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.2%) slightly underperform their larger-cap counterparts.

Sector strength is a nearly even split, and losses are contained to 0.3% or narrower. 

The communication services sector (+0.5%) is the early leader, supported by a solid gain in Meta Platforms (META 666.45, +7.76, +1.18%) after the company announced it acquired the Singapore-based AI startup Manus.

The energy sector (+0.4%) also holds a nice gain as the price of oil increases $0.20 (+0.3%) to $58.27 per barrel. Metal prices have started to rebound from yesterday's sharp retreat, keeping the materials sector (+0.1%) near its flatline. 

Corporate news flow is once again sparse ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Thursday. 

Breadth is nearly even on the NYSE, while decliners outpace advancers by a roughly 6-to-5 clip on the Nasdaq.