Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2), Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%), and DJIA (+0.1%) have spent the session in a tight range near their unchanged levels as yesterday's ceasefire optimism is met with some skepticism that the temporary truce will hold for the agreed-upon two-week time period.

In particular, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to tanker traffic, which has crude oil reclaiming roughly half of yesterday's retreat. WTI Crude oil is currently up $7.15 (+7.6%) to $101.56 per barrel. Additionally, Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon continue to be a point of contention in negotiations.

Still, the broader market tilts mostly higher, with the major averages now sitting near session highs as mega-cap names slowly improve from a mostly lower start.

Amazon (AMZN 230.61, +9.36, +4.23%) recently made a sharp move higher after the company announced plans to invest $25 billion in Mississippi data centers, with the gain pushing the consumer discretionary sector (+1.0%) near the top of the sector leaderboard despite broad weakness in the sector.

Elsewhere, the utilities sector (+1.8%) garners relatively strong buying interest today as investors seek more defensive holdings amid lingering geopolitical volatility, while the energy sector (+0.7%) is supported by the sharp rebound in oil prices.

Meanwhile, the top-weighted information technology sector is a laggard as software names come under renewed pressure, with the iShares GS Software ETF down 3.7%.