Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] After a flattish start to the session, stocks have steadily improved, with the S&P 500 (+0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.1%), and DJIA (flat) mostly higher in the early afternoon. The Russell 2000 (+0.9%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.4%) also sit at session highs. 

Tech, mega-cap, and high-beta names are seeing a continuation of Friday's strength after several weak performances in the previous week. 

Seven S&P 500 sectors trade higher, led by the top-weighted information technology sector (+1.7%). Software names such as AppLovin (APP 468.48, +61.76, +15.18%) and Oracle (ORCL 159.27, +16.45, +11.52%) are among the top-performing S&P 500 names today, helping the iShares GS Software ETF (IGV) rise 3.3%.  Microsoft (MSFT 412.59, +11.45, +2.85%) also holds a solid gain as investors do some bargain hunting after a considerable post-earnings retreat. 

Chipmakers are also on the move, with solid gains from NVIDIA (NVDA 191.84, +6.44, +3.47%) and Broadcom (AVGO 348.72, +16.23, +4.88%) pushing the PHLX Semiconductor Index 1.7% higher. 

Elsewhere, the communication services sector (+1.2%) also sports a nice gain due to solid mega-cap leadership from Meta Platforms (META 680.17, +18.71, +2.83%) and Alphabet (GOOG 326.34, +3.24, +1.00%). The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is 1.3% higher. 

While the consumer discretionary sector (-0.1%) is slightly lower for the day, it is significantly improved from session lows this morning.  Tesla (TSLA 420.18, +9.07, +2.21%) trades higher, while Amazon (AMZN 209.80, -0.52, -0.25%) has shed the majority of its early weakness that saw it trade over 2.5% lower this morning. 

Outside of the mega-cap realm, the materials sector (+0.9%) is nicely higher in conjunction with increasing precious metals prices, while gains elsewhere are limited to 0.5% or narrower. 

Losses are also modest, with the exception of the defensive consumer staples (-1.2%) and health care (-1.0%) sectors, which face some weakness amid the strength in growth names today. 

Kroger (KR 70.60, +3.10, +4.59%), however, holds a solid gain after announcing a new CEO and reaffirming its FY26 guidance.

Though not components of the health care sector (or S&P 500), Hims & Hers Health (HIMS 18.42, -4.60, -19.96%) is plummeting today after Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO 49.19, +1.55, +3.25%) filed a lawsuit over its compounded versions of Wegovy and Ozempic, which coincides with a weekend FDA announcement targeting non-FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs.

Corporate newsflow has been relatively quiet ahead of a busy week of earnings reports. The market did not receive any economic data of note, though this week will see the release of key inflation and labor readings. 

For the time being, the major averages trade in a steady range as tech and other high-profile growth stocks continue to rebound from last week's slide.