Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-1.5%), Nasdaq Composite (-2.0%), and DJIA (-1.6%) are charting session lows as the market enters the final hour of the session.

Not much has changed at the sector level throughout the afternoon. The energy sector (+1.7%) remains a standout, while the consumer staples (+1.0%) and utilities (+0.9%) sectors also maintain their gains. The materials sector (0.3%) trades modestly lower and rounds out the four S&P 500 sectors tracking for a weekly gain.

When taken another step further back, only the energy sector (+12.6% month-to-date) is on pace to end March with a gain, with just two sessions remaining for the month.

What is equally troubling is the extent of some of the losses that have accumulated in March. The communication services sector (-11.4% month-to-date) holds the widest loss, while the health care (-9.9% month-to-date), industrials (-9.8% month-to-date), and materials (-9.1% month-to-date) sectors also flirt with double-digit losses.

The top-weighted information technology sector (-6.3% month-to-date) is one of the “better” performers, highlighting the pressure that stocks have been under since the start of the war in Iran.