Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.3%) trade at or near session highs while the Dow Jones Industrial Average trades near its flat line.

Market participants are motivated to buy on weakness after last week's declines in the major indices. The buy-the-dip trade coincides with a seasonally strong period in the market, drawing in additional buying interest. Some early buyer enthusiasm has dissipated, though.

Shortly after the open, advancers lead decliners by a 3-to-2 ratio at both the NYSE and at the Nasdaq. Now, decliners have an 11-to-10 lead at the NYSE while advancers still lead decliners by a 4-to-3 margin at the Nasdaq. 

Rising market rates, which surged last week in response to hot inflation data, have kept a limit on buying interest in equities. The 10-yr yield is up one basis point to 4.41% and the 2-yr yield is up one basis point to 4.25%. 

Still, many names are trading higher, leading the equal-weighted S&P 500 to show a 0.1% gain. Outsized moves in some mega cap names have provided added support to index gains. Broadcom (AVGO 244.75, +18.99, +8.9%), Alphabet (GOOG 199.50, +8.12, +4.2%), and Tesla (TSLA 459.82, +23.57, +5.4%) are standouts in that respect, reaching fresh 52-week highs today. 

Gains in the aforementioned names have propelled their respective S&P 500 sectors to the top of the leaderboard today. The communication services (+1.7%), consumer discretionary (+1.6%), and information technology (+0.6%) sectors show the largest gains among the eight sectors trading higher.

Meanwhile, the energy sector shows a 1.8% decline amid dropping oil prices.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• December NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing 0.2 (Briefing.com consensus 10.0); Prior 31.2
• December S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI - Prelim 48.3; Prior 49.7
• December S&P Global US Services PMI - Prelim 58.5; Prior 56.1