Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.7%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%), and DJIA (+0.7%) hold solid gains shortly before midday as tech leads a rebound from yesterday's weakness against a backdrop of broader market strength. Even with the solid gains across the major averages, the Russell 2000 (+0.9%) and S&p Mid Cap 400 (+1.3%) continue to best their larger-cap counterparts this year. 

The top-weighted information technology sector (+1.5%) leads the strength, as a strong earnings report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 348.68, +21.57, +6.59%) has enthused chipmaker stocks, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index (+3.6%) to a fresh record high. 

Earnings growth also contributes to strength in the financials sector (+0.8%), with particular strength in Morgan Stanley (MS 189.82, +9.04, +5.00%) and Goldman Sachs (GS 963.93, +31.26, +3.35%) after topping earnings estimates this morning. 

Eight total S&P 500 sectors trade higher.

Weakness is concentrated in the health care sector (-1.3%), which is pressured by several corporate headlines and a relative lack of buying interest in more defensive names today. The energy sector (-0.2%) holds just a modest loss despite the price of oil falling $2.80 (-4.5%) to $59.08 per barrel, while the communication services sector (-0.4%) also retreats as Alphabet (GOOG 332.72, -3.60, -1.07%) is a mega-cap laggard.