Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Today's trade features a positive bias. Advancers lead decliners by a 2-to-1 margin at the NYSE and by a 3-to-2 margin at the Nasdaq. Mega cap stocks and semiconductor shares are in rally-mode today after leading market lower last week.

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) shows a 1.4% gain and the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) trades 2.9% higher. 

Market participants are also digesting news that President Biden exited the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris for the candidacy. The news has been cited as a reason for mega cap outperformance due to the view that these stocks are defensive, but many other stocks are participating in upside moves. The equal-weighted S&P 500 shows a 0.6% gain.

Only two of the S&P 500 sectors trade lower while the heavily-weighted information technology (+1.6%), communication services (+1.4%), and consumer discretionary (+1.1%) sectors show the largest gains. The energy (-0.3%) and consumer staples (-0.2%) sectors are alone in negative territory. 

Treasury yields are higher, which initially coincided with stocks moving lower. The equity market quickly recovered, though. The 10-yr note yield is up three basis points to 4.24% and the 2-yr note yield is up three basis points to 4.54%.

There was no US economic data of note today.