Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Today's trade was somewhat mixed despite a solid showing at the index-level. The market-cap S&P 500 extended its record high, climbing 0.8%, and the equal-weighted S&P 500 registered a 0.7% gain. Decliners had a slim lead over advancers, though, at both the NYSE and at the Nasdaq. 

The underlying negative bias, driven by consolidation activity, was not enough to offset buying activity in some mega cap stocks. 

Outsized gains in Apple (AAPL 216.67, +4.18, +2.0%) and Microsoft (MSFT 448.37, +5.80, +1.3%), which are two of the three stocks with a market cap above $3 trillion, provided some support to the broader market. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) was up 0.9%. 

Broadcom (AVGO 1828.87, +93.83, +5.4%) was another top performer today, along with other semiconductor-related names. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) jumped 1.6%.

Strength in the mega cap and semiconductor spaces also boosted the S&P 500 information technology (+1.2%) and consumer discretionary (+1.4%) sectors to the top of the leaderboard today. These sectors combined comprise 43% of the index. 

The rate-sensitive real estate (-0.8%) and utilities (-0.5%) sectors were the top laggard, clipped by a jump in yields. 

The 10-yr note yield closed seven basis points higher at 4.28% and the 2-yr note yield settled eight basis points higher at 4.76%.

Today's economic data was limited to the NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index, which rose to -6.0 in June (Briefing.com consensus -13.0) from -15.6 in May.

• Nasdaq Composite: +19.0% YTD
• S&P 500:+14.8% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +5.0% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +2.9% YTD
• Russell 2000: -0.3% YTD