Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices trade lower across the board, but downside moves are relatively limited. The S&P 500 sports a 0.4% decline and the Nasdaq Composite trades 0.5% lower while the Russell 2000 underperforms, trading 0.8% below its prior close.

Rising market rates have contributed to the selling interest in equities. The 10-yr yield is up four basis points from Friday at 4.02% and the 2-yr yield is up five basis points to 3.98%.

Many stocks are participating in today's retreat, leading nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors to trade lower. The consumer discretionary (-1.5%) and utilities (-1.7%) sectors are the worst performers so far. Meanwhile, the energy sector (+0.8%) shows relatively strength amid rising oil prices.

Oil prices continue to climb due to ongoing worries about a potential escalation between Israel and Iran, along with concerns about Hurricane Milton, which has intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. WTI crude oil futures sit at $77.10/bbl and Brent crude oil futures sit at $80.71/bbl. 

Chevron (CVX 151.77, +1.001, +0.7%) is an influential winner in the sector after news that it sold interests in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and Duvernay Shale for $6.5 billion.

Today's economic data is limited to the Consumer Credit report for August (Briefing.com consensus $12.7 bln; prior $25.5 bln) at 15:00 ET.