Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market began the week with mixed action. The lack of conviction follows last week's solid gains in response to Fed Chair Powell's messaging, and is in front of NVIDIA's (NVDA 126.11, -3.23, -2.5%) earnings report after Wednesday's close.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.3%) reached a fresh all-time high today while the S&P 500 (-0.2%) and Nasdaq Composite (-0.7%) have traded lower through most of the session so far. There's a positive bias under the surface, though, which has the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) trading 0.2% higher in record territory. 

Losses in the mega cap and semiconductor space have limited index performance. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) shows a 1.1% decline and the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) trades 0.2% lower. This price action has weighed down the information technology (-1.0%) and consumer discretionary (-0.5%) sectors. 

On the flip side, the energy sector (+1.1%) shows the largest gain amid rising oil prices ($77.22/bbl, +2.39/bbl, +3.2%) following retaliatory strikes over the weekend by Israel and Hezbollah. Additionally, Libya's eastern government has said it will stop oil production, according to Bloomberg.

Treasury yields are little changed from Friday. The 10-yr note yield sits at 3.80% and the 2-yr note yield is at 3.91%.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• July Durable Goods - ex transportation -0.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior was revised to 0.1% from 0.5%, July Durable Orders 9.9% (Briefing.com consensus 4.0%); Prior was revised to -6.9% from -6.6%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that business spending was soft in July, evidenced by a 0.1% decline in new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft.