Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices trade at or near their highs of the day, which has the S&P 500 trading above 5,600 for the first time. Solid gains in the mega cap space have boosted index performance, but many stocks are participating in upside moves. The equal-weighted S&P 500 sports a 0.5% gain. 

Strength in the semiconductor space has also boosted index performance. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) is 2.0% higher with nearly every component showing a gain. NVIDIA (NVDA 134.80, +3.42, +2.6%) is an influential winner from the space.

Meanwhile, the heavily-weighted financial sector continues to underperform the broader market, showing a 0.1% loss, ahead of earnings results from big banks on Friday. Citigroup (C 66.92, +0.36, +0.5%) is trading higher in front of its earnings report. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 207.36, -0.27, -0.1%) and Wells Fargo (WFC 59.54, -0.34, -0.6%) trade down in front of their quarterly results.

Many bank stocks are showing solid gains today. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) sports a 1.2% gain. 

Fed Chairman Powell concludes his two-day semiannual testimony on monetary policy with an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, which didn't produce any surprises like yesterday's remarks to the Senate.

The price action in Treasuries has acted as support for equities so far.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index dropped 0.2% after a 2.6% decline last week
• Wholesale inventories increased 0.2% in May (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%) following a revised 0.2% increase in April (from 0.1%)
• Weekly EIA Crude Oil Inventories showed a draw of 3.44 million barrels versus last week's draw of 12.16 million barrels