Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened to mixed action. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.7%) is lower while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) and S&P 500 (+0.1%) trade higher. There's an element of hesitation in today's trade ahead of Friday's employment report. 

Hesitation also stems from geopolitical worries, which have also driven oil prices higher ($71.94/bbl, +1.84, +2.7%).

The S&P 500 energy sector is benefitting from the activity in oil, trading 0.3% higher. The information technology sector also trades higher due in part to strength in its semiconductor components. NVIDIA (NVDA 123.90, +5.02, +4.2%) and Broadcom (AVGO 174.38, +3.72, +2.2%) are sharply higher after NVDA CEO Jensen Huang said the next wave of AI is beginning, according to CNBC.

Market participants are digesting some economic data this morning, including the S&P Global US Services PMI declined to 55.2 in the final September reading from 55.7. The ISM Services Index jumped to 54.9% in September (Briefing.com consensus 51.6%) from 51.5% in August. 

Factory orders declined 0.2% in August (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%) following a 4.9% increase in July (revised from 5.0%).