Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Today's trade has a positive tone. Index level action was muted early on, but buying has increased as Treasury yields declined. The 10-yr yield, near 4.50% again in overnight trading, is down one basis point from Friday's settlement at 4.42%.

The upside bias is also related to buy-the-dip interest after last week's consolidation that led the major indices to give up a portion of their post-election gains. 

Strength in some mega caps and in the chipmaker space has contributed to index level gains. NVIDIA (NVDA 139.41, -2.57, -1.8%) has gone against the grain, trading lower following news that customers are worried about overheating snags with its AI chips, according to The Information. NVIDIA also reports earnings after Wednesday's close.

Tesla (TSLA 340.12, +19.43, +6.0%), meanwhile, trades sharply higher, building on its post-election gains on a Bloomberg report that the Trump administration is considering relaxing regulations on self-driving cars. The stock is now up 37.8% since November 5. This surge has helped lift the S&P 500’s consumer discretionary sector by 1.1%.

The energy sector (+1.0%) is another top performer, responding to rising commodity prices. WTI crude oil futures are 2.9% higher at $68.84/bbl and natural gas futures are 3.3% higher at $2.92/mmbtu.

All 11 sectors trade above Friday's closing levels, reflecting broad buying interest. The health care sector shows the slimmest gain, up 0.1%. Eli Lilly (LLY 718.82, -27.35, -3.6%) has weighed down the health care sector after reports that Republican Senators appear open to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination for Secretary of HHS.

Today's economic data included the November NAHB Housing Market Index, which rose to 46 in November (Briefing.com consensus 43) from 43 in October.