Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices are slowly moving higher and market breadth has improved over the last half hour. Decliners had the lead initially, but advancers now lead by a 3-to-2 margin at the NYSE and by an 11-to-10 ratio at the Nasdaq.

Earlier, the weekly EIA crude oil inventories showed a draw of 934,000 barrels following last week's draw of 1.43 million barrels. WTI crude oil futures were already elevated ahead of the release and moved higher in response, up 1.3% to $70.55/bbl. 

On a related note, the S&P 500 energy sector is among only three sectors trading lower, showing a 0.2% decline. The consumer staples sector (-0.2%) and consumer discretionary sector (-0.1%) are also underperforming the index.