Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has traded higher and lower today as participants return from the holiday break. There's not a lot of conviction on either side of the tape and not a lot of participation, leading to below-average volume. Advancers and decliners are roughly even at the NYSE.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite trade slightly lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average trades near its prior close, and the Russell 2000 outperforms, sporting a 0.4% gain. 

Losses in some mega cap names have contributed to the underperformance of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. NVIDIA (NVDA 139.78, -0.43, -0.3%), Microsoft (MSFT 438.46, -0.87, -0.2%), and Amazon.com (AMZN 227.52, -1.57, -0.7%), which make up nearly 20% of the S&P 500, are among the influential losers so far. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) is 0.2% lower.

Meanwhile, semiconductor stocks are showing some strength. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) sports a 0.3% gain with many components trading higher. Broadcom (AVGO 244.63, +4.93, +2.1%) is an influential winner from the space while NVIDIA lags.

The solid showing from chipmakers has boosted the S&P 500 information technology sector (+0.1%) while declines in mega cap components have led the consumer discretionary (-0.5%) and communication services (-0.4%) sectors to trade lower.

Mixed action in the Treasury market has kept buying in check in the stock market. The 10-yr yield, which hit 4.64% earlier, sits at 4.59% now.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly Initial Claims 219K (Briefing.com consensus 232K); Prior 220K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1.910 mln; Prior was revised to 1.864 mln from 1.874 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that layoff activity is low; however, if one loses their job, it is becoming more challenging to find a new position.