Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%), and DJIA (-0.4%) are mostly higher just after the open, with the gains once again driven by tech and mega-cap stocks amid weak participation in the broader market.

The information technology (+0.5%) sector leads the advance, with strength in software stocks and other components offsetting an early 0.8% slide in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. PTC (PTC 194.24, +50.21, +34.86%) is surging higher after Schneider Electric (SBGSY 60.61, -7.79, -11.39%) confirmed it will acquire the company for $205 per share in cash, while Microsoft (MSFT 527.90, +10.37, +2.00%) is a mega-cap standout after Melius upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold with a $665 target price. The iShares GS Software ETF is up 1.3%.

Elsewhere in the sector, Western Digital (WDC 439.64, +24.35, +5.86%) and Seagate Tech (STX 897.16, +48.16, +5.67%) are bouncing back from Friday's retreat.

Meta Platforms (META 738.86, +10.78, +1.48%) leads the communication services sector (+0.5%) to a similar gain, while mega-cap strength helps offset broader weakness in the consumer discretionary sector. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 0.7%, keeping the market-weighted S&P 500 modestly higher while the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (-0.3%) begins to drift lower.

The health care sector (+0.3%) also holds a modest gain, while most of the other S&P 500 sectors drift near their baselines, though the real estate (-0.5%) and industrials (-0.4%) sectors face the some more pronounced pressure so far.

On the economic data front, the final reading of the September S&P Global U.S. Services PMI was 58.8, up slightly from the previous reading at 58.7.

The ISM Services PMI decreased to 54.9 in September (Briefing.com consensus: 55.7%) from 55.4% in August.