Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] As the market enters the final half hour of the session, the major averages look to close in on stout gains that negate much of this week's earlier pressures. 

Today's advance featured nearly every corner of the market, making it harder to find pockets of weakness amid resounding strength.

Still, some names were left out of today's advance. 

Several defense stocks, such as GE Aerospace (GE 266.74, -1.97, -0.73%), Northrop Grumman (NOC 591.79, -5.42, -0.91%), and Lockheed Martin (LMT 445.30, -1.90, -0.42%), traded lower, resulting in a relatively modest gain for the iShares U.S. Aerospace and Defense ETF (+0.7%).

Cellphone carriers also faced pressure, with T-Mobile US (TMUS 252.41, -5.75, -2.23%), AT&T (T 28.71, -0.73, -2.46%), and Verizon (VZ 44.30, -0.72, -1.61%) all expanding upon yesterday's losses.