Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market spent most of the session trading flattish at the index level. The major indices eked out slim gains, though, on this last session of the month due to a nice move higher in the last 10 minutes of trading. The Russell 2000 paced index gains by a decent margin, rising 1.1%.

Many stocks participated in the late afternoon climb. The market-cap weighted S&P 500 rose 0.2%; the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) rose 0.3%; and the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) rose 0.1%. 

In the early going, the major indices largely traded in narrow ranges near their flat lines as participants looked ahead to a busy week of earnings. The calendar this week will feature quarterly results from the likes of Apple (AAPL 196.45, +0.62, +0.3%), Amazon (AMZN 133.68, +1.47, +1.1%), Merck (MRK 106.65, +0.31, +0.3%), and Qualcomm (QCOM 132.17, +2.69, +2.1%).

There's also some market-moving economic data, including the July ISM Manufacturing Index on Tuesday, the July ISM Non-Manufacturing Index on Thursday, and the July Employment Report on Friday.

Even when the major indices were flattish, market breadth still reflected a positive bias. Advancers led decliners by a 5-to-2 margin at the NYSE and a 5-to-3 margin at the Nasdaq. 

The S&P 500 energy sector (+2.0%) rose to the top of the leaderboard by a decent margin, boosted by a gain in Chevron (CVX 163.66, +4.79, +3.0%) after it was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

The health care sector (-0.8%), meanwhile, was the worst performer. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 167.33, -6.95, -4.0%) was a drag on the sector after a U.S. judge ruled against resolving talc claims in bankruptcy, according to Reuters. Agilent (A 121.77, -4.28, -3.4%) was another notable loser after being downgraded to In-line from Outperform at Evercore ISI.

• Nasdaq Composite: +37.1% YTD
• S&P 500: +19.5% YTD
• Russell 2000: +13.7% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +12.3% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +7.3% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Chicago PMI rose to 42.8 in July (Briefing.com consensus 43.0) from 41.5 in June

Economic data on Tuesday will include:

• 9:45 ET: Final July S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI (prior 46.3)
• 10:00 ET: June Construction Spending (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%; prior 0.9%), July ISM Manufacturing Index (Briefing.com consensus 46.8%; prior 46.0%), and June job openings (prior 9.824 mln)