Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is having a strong showing so far, which propelled the S&P 500 to a fresh record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is more than 300 points higher, the Russell 2000 sports a 0.6% gain, and the Nasdaq Composite trades up 0.4%.

Ongoing buy-the-dip interest has contributed to the upside bias, along with strength in some mega caps and chipmakers. Alphabet (GOOG 161.94, -3.76, -2.3%) has been left out of the rally after news that the Department of Justice is considering a breakup of Google.

This price action, along with a loss in Meta Platforms (META 587.01, -5.88, -1.0%), has the S&P 500 communication services sector trading 1.1% lower. The rate-sensitive real estate (-0.5%) and utilities (-0.7%) sectors are also lower amid rising market rates. 

The 10-yr yield is up three basis points to 4.06% and the 2-yr yield is up three basis points to 4.01%. The price action in Treasuries hasn't deterred broad buying in equities. 

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) sports a 0.5% gain. The heavily-weighted S&P 500 financial sector sports a 0.8% gain and the consumer discretionary sector trades 0.7% higher.

Oil prices have improved as equities and yields hit intraday highs. WTI crude oil futures were below $72.00/bbl at their lows this morning, but trade at $72.85/bbl now.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index -5.1%; Prior -1.3%
• August Wholesale Inventories 0.1% (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%); Prior 0.2%
• Weekly EIA crude oil inventories had a build of 5.81 million barrels after last week's build of 3.89 million barrels