Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (flat), and DJIA (+0.5%) are mostly higher as stocks look to recover from two lower finishes to start the week.

Crude oil and U.S. Treasury yields have both come down from their overnight highs, providing the market with some relief this morning. WTI crude oil is down $0.71 (-0.9%) to $89.53 per barrel, while the 10-year note yield is down one basis point to 4.79%. As a result, the Russell 2000 (+0.7%) is outperforming the major averages so far. Action is mixed, with five S&P 500 sectors holding gains.

The health care sector (+1.3%) is a standout as pharmaceutical stocks such as Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 277.49, +6.30, +2.32%) trade higher, while the materials sector (+1.3%) holds a similar gain, with steel names Steel Dynamics (STLD 242.70, +8.62, +3.68%) and Nucor (NUE 259.62, +7.70, +3.06%) among the top-performing S&P 500 components this morning.

Dell (DELL 450.24, +25.24, +5.94%) is the best-performing S&P 500 component after an impressive beat-and-raise earnings report, though the information technology sector (-0.1%) moves slightly lower as software stocks lag after Palo Alto Networks (PANW 328.42, -33.67, -9.30%) earnings, while semiconductors are also under pressure.

Elsewhere, the financials sector (+0.7%) holds a decent gain, with several of its major banking components contributing to the outperformance of the DJIA.

Just released, factory orders increased 0.9% month-over-month in July (Briefing.com consensus: 0.6%) following an upwardly revised 0.2% decline (from -0.3%) in June.