Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (flat) are mostly higher just before midday amid mixed strength in the broader market and a more subdued showing from mega-cap tech today.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched fresh record high levels at the open, but quickly pulled back, spending the bulk of the morning in modestly negative territory. Yesterday's record-setting gains were driven by strong mega-cap leadership, which is notably absent so far today as the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.2%) trades just modestly higher.

The consumer discretionary sector (-0.6%) is a laggard as Amazon (AMZN 247.99, -0.51, -0.21%) and Tesla (TSLA 387.38, -4.57, -1.17%) trade lower, but mega-cap stocks elsewhere are beginning to shake their early weakness.

The top-weighted information technology sector (+0.4%) now sports a modest gain, which has helped the major averages reclaim their flatlines.

Sector strength overall has a positive tilt, with pockets of the market that went overlooked amid yesterday's growth rally rebounding today. The energy sector (+1.4%) holds the widest gain as crude oil hovers near the $90 per barrel mark, while the materials sector (+0.6%) also rebounds from recent weakness.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+0.1%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.3%) are back above their baselines.