Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks hold a modestly positive bias in relatively uneventful trading, with the S&P 500 (+0.3%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%) higher while the DJIA (+0.1%) sits closer to its flatline.

The major averages have spent much of the session moving within narrow ranges as investors digest this morning's inflation data. The July Consumer Price Index came and went without upsetting the market, as both headline (+0.1%) and core (+0.2%) CPI matched expectations. The report helped ease some concern about additional Fed tightening, pushing the probability of the FOMC leaving rates unchanged in September to 61.9% from 51.6% yesterday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. With the week's most anticipated economic release producing few surprises, trading has remained relatively stable.

The information technology sector (+1.1%) is providing some of the market's strongest leadership as momentum returns to semiconductor and AI-related names. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is up 3.2%, with sharp post-earnings gains in CoreWeave (CRWV 108.50, +18.18, +20.13%), Super Micro Computer (SMCI 36.64, +5.04, +15.97%), and Lumentum (LITE 937.26, +116.67, +14.22%) adding enthusiasm to the AI trade. That strength is helping offset weakness in software stocks and several mega-cap technology names.

Outside the information technology sector, SpaceX (SPCX 144.07, +10.78, +8.09%) is another momentum standout, jumping 7.2% after introducing Grok 4.6.

The real estate sector (+1.0%) is also a standout amid some modest easing in Treasury yields.

Strength elsewhere is more mixed, with six S&P 500 sectors currently trading higher and advancers holding only a slim advantage over decliners on both the NYSE and Nasdaq.

Meanwhile, weakness across non-semiconductor mega-cap stocks is limiting the upside at the index level. The consumer discretionary sector (-1.0%) is among the laggards as Amazon (AMZN 269.23, -3.04, -1.12%) and Tesla (TSLA 326.96, -5.85, -1.76%) move lower. NIKE (NKE 40.79, -0.53, -1.28%) and lululemon athletica (LULU 121.51, -4.10, -3.26%) are also under pressure, while homebuilders and related names have struggled despite the modest decline in yields. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF is down 1.9%.

The communication services sector (-1.0%) also trails the broader market, with Meta Platforms (META 582.62, -16.50, -2.75%) among the weakest "Magnificent Seven" components. Charter Comm (CHTR 150.03, -7.66, -4.86%) is another notable laggard despite little in the way of company-specific news.

Elsewhere, the energy sector is little changed as WTI crude trades just below its flatline amid relatively few new developments surrounding the U.S.-Iran conflict today.

Overall, the in-line CPI report has provided some reassurance on the policy front without generating a particularly forceful market reaction. Reduced expectations for a September rate hike and strength across semiconductor and AI-related stocks are supporting the major averages, though mixed breadth and weakness across several mega-cap names have kept the advance relatively contained.

Reviewing today's data:

• July CPI 0.1% vs. 0.1% Briefing.com consensus; prior -0.4%
• July Core CPI 0.2% vs. 0.2% Briefing.com consensus; prior 0.0%
  • The July CPI report, at the least, did not stoke "new" concerns that the Fed will have to raise rates at the September FOMC meeting. That is the key takeaway from the report, and it was embedded in the realization that this report came in as expected.