Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened to nice gains after President Trump confirmed that the U.S. will not use force to acquire Greenland in his address at the World Economic Forum, easing fears of increasing trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe.

The S&P 500 (+0.8%) currently trades just above its 50-day moving average (6,832) after slipping below the key technical level yesterday. The DJIA (+0.7%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%) hold similar gains. 

Ten S&P 500 sectors trade higher this morning, with only the consumer staples sector (-0.5%), which notched a modest gain yesterday, moving lower. 

The energy sector (+2.3%) is the early standout despite a flattish price of oil this morning. President Trump noted in his address this morning that major oil companies will enter and profit in Venezuela. Halliburton (HAL 33.64, +1.58, +4.93%) holds a solid gain after beating EPS expectations by $0.14 and beating revenue expectations. 

Meanwhile, the top-weighted information technology sector (+0.8%) is also higher after shedding 2.9% yesterday. Like many sessions this year, the PHLX Semiconductor Index (+2.3%) is off to another hot start. NVIDIA (NVDA 180.50, +2.43, +1.36%) is seeing some buy-the-dip interest while Intel (INTC 52.32, +3.76, +7.74%) rips higher for a second consecutive session. 

Just released, pending home sales decreased 9.3% in December (Briefing.com consensus 0.7%), from a prior increase of 3.3%.

Construction spending decreased 0.6% in September (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%) from a prior increase of 0.2%. Spending then increased 0.5% in October (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%).