Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The indices continue to hold a posture above the unchanged line but haven't shown much vigor since the opening move. Still, given the magnitude of this weekend's headline that the U.S. destroyed three Iranian nuclear facilities, a gain of any kind is likely more than one might have imagined when those headlines hit.

The oil market, arguably, is the best proxy for the market's take on things, and that take right now is that this conflict will be contained and oil supplies won't be disrupted in any meaningful way.

WTI crude futures are down 1.0% to $73.08/bbl. The energy sector (-0.4%) is tracking lower with those prices, while the rest of the market is plodding along, mindful that it has come a long way in a short amount of time and that premium valuations suggest further upside will be harder to come by without an acceleration in earnings growth.

The second-quarter earnings reporting period will get rolling in the latter half of July. According to FactSet, the second-quarter blended earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 is 4.8% versus 9.2% on March 31.