Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have faced some choppy action in the final session of the holiday-abbreviated week, with the S&P 500 (flat), Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%), and DJIA (-0.1%) now sitting flattish after opening to considerable losses.

Equity futures signaled a lower opening after President Trump addressed the nation last night, vowing further strikes against Iran. The address weighed on the market's hopes for a ceasefire, and crude oil moved sharply higher. The major averages opened to losses of 1.0% or wider across the board but moved sharply higher about an hour into the session after Bloomberg reported that Iran is drafting a proposal with Oman regarding traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The major averages briefly reclaimed their flatlines but now trade a touch lower. Oil prices also backed off modestly, but remain sharply higher, with WTI crude currently up $10.01 (+10.0%) to $110.13 per barrel.

Sector strength is now a mixed bag, with six S&P 500 sectors trading higher. The real estate sector (+1.0%) holds the widest gain, while the consumer discretionary sector (-1.2%) remains the only sector with a loss of 0.5% or wider, as Tesla (TSLA 366.28, -14.98, -3.93%) is a mega-cap laggard today.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+0.3%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.1%) followed a similar trajectory to the major averages