Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] After some choppy action this morning, the S&P 500 (+0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%), and DJIA (+0.1%) are modestly higher across the board shortly after midday. 

Stocks have faced a whirlwind of macro developments so far. Initially, equity futures moved lower in response to a hotter-than-anticipated December PCE print (0.4%; Briefing.com consensus 0.3%), which kept year-over-year inflation levels above target. Additionally, the advance Q4 GDP report showed some weakness, with real GDP increasing at an annual rate of 1.4% (Briefing.com consensus: 3.0%), though the government shutdown likely played a role in the softer reading. 

While the market had a negative tilt at the open, stocks were given a boost after the Supreme Court ruled against President Trump's IEEPA tariffs. While the issue of tariff refunds will likely be messy and addressed by the lower courts (according to The Wall Street Journal), it gave growth stocks, particularly those that rely on imports, a nice lift that keeps the major averages higher. 

Strength is still mixed, with five S&P 500 sectors trading higher, though solid mega-cap leadership tilts the trade in favor of the major averages. 

Alphabet (GOOG 314.43, +10.87, +3.58%) and Meta Platforms (META 657.80, +13.02, +2.02%) lead the communication services sector (+2.5%) higher, while Amazon (AMZN 208.63, +3.77, +1.84%) is just one of many names that benefit from the tariff ruling in the consumer discretionary sector (+0.7%). 

The information technology sector (+0.4%) also sports a nice gain. 

Meanwhile, the energy sector (-1.2%) is a laggard as the price of oil finally takes a step back today, though tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+0.2%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.4%) hold modest gains.