Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%), and DJIA (+0.3%) opened to solid gains as tech leads an early rebound effort from yesterday's lows. 

Unsurprisingly, the information technology sector (+1.5%) is the top mover this morning, as a solid earnings report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 345.21, +18.10, +5.53%) has the chipmaker space buzzing this morning. 

The PHLX Semiconductor Index is up 3.6%, with NVIDIA (NVDA 188.87, +5.73, +3.13%) (whose chips are manufactured by TSM) among the names trending higher. 

Elsewhere, strength tilts positive this morning, with seven S&P 500 sectors trading higher. Cyclical sectors are once again posting solid gains, with the exception of the energy sector (-0.9%), which faces pressure as the price of oil slides $2.80 (-4.5%) to $59.08 per barrel. Oil has been retreating since yesterday afternoon, when President Trump said he received confirmation that the Iranian government would stop killing protesters, a development that curtails the risk of a U.S. strike.

Meanwhile, the financials sector (+0.6%) finally sees some relief after a tough week so far.  Morgan Stanley (MS 186.57, +5.79, +3.20%) is the big earnings winner today, while Citigroup (C 115.95, +3.54, +3.15%), which traded lower yesterday despite topping earnings estimates, also holds a nice gain.