Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has mounted a broad advance as comments from President Trump have soothed concerns over trade tensions between the U.S. and China, with the S&P 500 (+1.7%), Nasdaq Composite (+2.2%), and DJIA (+1.4%) recapturing roughly half of Friday's losses. The small-cap Russell 2000 (+2.5%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+2.0%) outperform amid the improvement in market sentiment. 

After previously threatening a 100% tariff rate for Chinese imports in response to tightened rare earth export controls, President Trump said on Truth Social yesterday, "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine!"

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent contributed to the upbeat tone this morning, telling Fox Business that the U.S. and China were in contact over the weekend and that he still anticipates President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi in the near future.

Semiconductor and mega-cap names have driven the ensuing advance after facing the steepest losses on Friday. 

The information technology (+2.8%) and PHLX Semiconductor Index (+5.2%) continue to chart new session highs as the improved sentiment has given rise to a sharp rebound in chipmakers. 

Broadcom (AVGO 358.16, +33.53, +10.33%) leads all names in the S&P 500 today, trading higher after announcing that the company will collaborate with OpenAI on 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators. 

The market's largest name by market capitalization, NVIDIA (NVDA 188.61, +5.45, +2.97%), also captures a nice gain.

Mega-cap strength is not just limited to the technology sector, as the consumer discretionary (+1.8%) and communication services (+1.5%) sectors both benefit from strong leadership in their largest names. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 2.1%. 

Shares of Tesla (TSLA 426.39, +12.90, +3.12%) trade higher after a loss on Friday, as the rare earth materials that China has tightened export controls over are critical to the production of electric vehicles. 

Outside of the mega-cap space, retailers, which are reliant on Chinese imports, are also outperforming. Burlington Stores (BURL 274.10, +19.58, +7.69%) and Ross Stores (ROST 153.59, +5.88, +3.98%) are among the names pushing the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (+2.8%) higher. 

Only the consumer staples sector (-0.5%), which traded higher amid the broad retreat on Friday, holds a loss today. 

While the improved sentiment around trade relations between the U.S. and China has paved the way for a strong buy-the-dip move today, the session has been relatively light on stock-specific headlines since the open. 

In geopolitical news, Hamas has returned the remaining Israeli hostages, with President Trump and other world leaders officially signing a Gaza ceasefire deal today. 

On the homefront, Democrats and Republicans have reportedly not made any progress on a resolution to fund the government and end the ongoing shutdown. 

The market did not receive any economic data today, and the Treasury market is closed for the Columbus Day holiday.