Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Recent action saw the S&P 500 (-0.6%) slip past its opening low while the Nasdaq (-1.6%) is fighting to stay above its lowest level of the day. With these moves, the S&P 500 is now just a couple points above its 50-day moving average (7698), which has been a high-traffic area for nearly three weeks now. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq finished yesterday's session just below its 50-day moving average (26586) but today's selling has pressured the tech-heavy index away from that level.

The disappointing quarterly report from Alphabet (GOOG 279.32, -42.57, -13.22%), which is a member of the S&P communication services sector (-7.0%), has had a negative impact on sentiment surrounding tech stocks, especially those that are closest to the AI universe.

Staying on the tech theme, software stocks are facing some profit taking today, sending the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV 107.55, -4.36, -3.90%) from its best close in three weeks back to its 50-day moving average (106.94). Oracle (ORCL 138.05, -6.49, -4.49%) which is a major piece in the AI story is among the underperformers there, but today's losses in that group have been paced by a sharp plunge in ServiceNow (NOW 109.83, -40.30, -26.84%) after the company missed quarterly expectations. Fortinet (FTNT 136.50, -37.58, -21.59%) is also a big laggard in that group with underwhelming billings overshadowing above-consensus results for Q3 and above-consensus EPS guidance for Q4.