Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is doing a solid job of expanding upon Friday's rebound effort as mega-cap and tech names provide strong leadership against a backdrop of broad participation.

Early strength across the market's largest names pushed the S&P 500 (+1.6%) and Nasdaq Composite (+2.6%) to early gains, though the broader market was initially a little hesitant to join the advance. Nine S&P 500 sectors now trade in positive territory, which helped lift the DJIA (+0.6%) to a gain of its own. 

The communication services sector (+3.4%) holds the widest gain as Alphabet (GOOG 315.87, +16.22, +5.41%) surged to a new record high amid positive reception to its Gemini 3 AI model. 

Meta Platforms (META 615.18, +20.93, +3.52%) is also nicely higher. 

Renewed optimism around the AI trade unsurprisingly lifts the information technology sector (+2.5%) near the top of today's leaderboard, supported by a 4.6% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. 

Broadcom (AVGO 373.87, +33.67, +9.90%) holds the widest gain across S&P 500 names today, while Micron (MU 224.83, +17.46, +8.42%) catches a nice break from recent weakness, and NVIDIA (NVDA 183.15, +4.27, +2.39%) holds a nice gain after trading lower this morning. 

The consumer discretionary sector (+2.1%) rounds out the three big movers this morning, with Tesla (TSLA 419.62, +28.53, +7.30%) a standout among the "magnificent seven." 

All told, the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 2.5%, reflecting renewed confidence in the market’s largest leaders after several weeks of pressure. That strength has helped carry the broader market higher, and today’s advance now has the S&P 500 sitting just 0.1% below its 50-day moving average (6,713.17). The technical level once again provides a key test of market direction, and a sustained move above it would strengthen the case that the recent pullback has run its course.

Adding to the upside tone, Fed commentary is bolstering rate-cut expectations. Fed Governor Christopher Waller (FOMC voting member) said he supports a December rate cut, while noting that any additional easing will be decided on a meeting-by-meeting basis. Those remarks helped firm the market's conviction, as the CME FedWatch Tool now assigns a 78.0% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the December meeting, up from 71.0% on Friday.