Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.4%), and DJIA (-0.3%) are modestly lower after stocks gave up their early gains amid an uptick in geopolitical uncertainty.

The major averages held decent gains early in the session, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite approaching Friday's record high levels. Stocks were supported by this morning's batch of earnings reports that mostly topped expectations, while optimism around the U.S. and Iran reaching a deal this week kept oil prices flattish.

The major averages moved into negative territory about an hour before midday as reports began to circulate that it is now unclear whether Iran will meet in Pakistan for the next round of talks with the U.S. Additionally, Vice President JD Vance, who was set to lead the U.S. side of negotiations, remains in the U.S. with the ceasefire deadline looming.

The price of oil made a decisive move higher, with crude oil currently up $2.95 (+3.4%) to $90.37 per barrel.

The energy sector (+0.8%) now holds the widest gain across S&P 500 sectors, but the bounce in oil prices has notably softened broader strength.

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.2%) is the only other S&P 500 sector that remains in positive territory. Amazon (AMZN 251.86, +3.58, +1.44%) is a mega-cap standout amid a weaker day for the market's largest components (the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is down 0.4%), with the stock trading higher after announcing an expanded partnership with Anthropic that is highlighted by a potential $25 billion incremental investment and Anthropic's commitment to spend over $100 billion on AWS over the next decade.

Elsewhere in the sector, D.R. Horton (DHI 164.08, +10.74, +7.01%) is one of the best-performing S&P 500 components after topping earnings estimates. Homebuilder peers have responded positively, with the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF up 0.9%.

The top-weighted information technology sector (-0.1%) is another relative outperformer, though it recently moved below its flatline. Software stocks are charting solid gains, pushing the iShares GS Software ETF 1.4% higher.

That strength is offset by considerable weakness in Apple (AAPL 266.24, -6.81, -2.49%) after announcing a major leadership transition, with Tim Cook stepping down after 15 years as CEO and John Ternus set to take the helm on September 1, 2026.

Currently, the real estate sector (-1.6%) is the worst performer, facing pressure as treasury yields move higher today. The 2-year note yield is up six basis points to 3.78%, and the 10-year note yield is up four basis points to 4.29%.

Elsewhere, earnings remain a key driver of price action, with both the strongest and weakest performers across sectors largely reacting to individual results and guidance. In particular, Halliburton (HAL 38.28, +1.60, +4.35%) leads strength in the energy sector (+0.8%), while Northrop Grumman (NOC 618.42, -38.56, -5.87%) and GE Aerospace (GE 285.32, -18.28, -6.02%) weigh heavily on the industrials sector (-0.9%), and UnitedHealth's (UNH 350.40, +26.92, +8.32%) impressive gain fails to offset weakness across pharmaceutical names in the health care (-0.7%) sector.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (-0.5%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.2%) also trade modestly lower.

So far, some intraday geopolitical volatility has forced stocks off a decent early course, though the losses are modest in nature, with attention increasingly shifting back to earnings as the primary driver of price action.

Reviewing today's data:

• March Retail Sales 1.7% (Briefing.com consensus 1.3%); Prior was revised to 0.7% from 0.6%, March Retail Sales, ex-auto 1.9% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%); Prior was revised to 0.7% from 0.5%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that retail sales look great from a headline perspective, but higher gas prices and higher prices in general were the main drivers. Excluding gasoline sales, retail sales were up 0.6% month-over-month, which looks good, but remember retail sales are not adjusted for price changes. Accordingly, it becomes evident that the sales gains in March were driven more by higher prices than increased volume, which is a better indication of demand.
• February Business Inventories 0.4% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior -0.1%
• March Pending Home Sales 1.5% (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%); Prior was revised to 2.5% from 1.8%