Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.2%), and DJIA (+0.4%) have spent the first half of today's action in a familiar, muted fashion ahead of the 2:00 p.m. ET FOMC decision. 

The market has been expecting a 25-basis point rate reduction at the December FOMC meeting for the past several weeks, though it is anticipated that commentary will have a hawkish tilt toward additional near-term easing. 

As a result, equities have seen some subdued sessions this week, with the major averages holding modest week-to-date losses as a result. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite trails its peers today as the information technology sector (-0.6%) lags, though the sector has rebounded from even steeper losses this morning. Microsoft (MSFT 481.76, -10.26, -2.09%) and NVIDIA (NVDA 182.84, -2.13, -1.15%) are the worst-performing "magnificent seven" names today, putting pressure on the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (-0.4%). 

Meanwhile, Oracle (ORCL 219.72, -1.82, -0.82%) and Broadcom (AVGO 403.37, -2.92, -0.72%) trade with more modest losses ahead of their earnings reports this week. 

The communication services sector (-0.4%) also faces some mega-cap weakness from Meta Platforms (META 649.92, -7.04, -1.07%).

Elsewhere in the sector, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD 29.54, +1.28, +4.51%) widens its week-to-date gain to 13.3% as the takeover battle for the company intensifies. Bloomberg reported that Paramount Skydance (PSKY 14.83, +0.19, +1.27%) could substantially increase its unsolicited all-cash $30 per share offer. 

The utilities sector (-0.4%) rounds out the three retreating S&P 500 sectors, while eight trade higher. 

Gains are relatively modest, which has several sectors vying for the top spot on today's leaderboard.

The health care sector (+0.8%) is one of those names, rebounding from a 1.0% slide yesterday. The sector has faced pressure in December after a run of outperformance in November that coincided with some shakiness in the AI trade. 

The industrials sector (+0.8%) holds a nearly identical gain, supported by a rally in GE Vernova (GEV 713.12, +87.82, +14.04%) after the company issued upbeat guidance and provided an optimistic long-term financial outlook. 

Finally, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.8%) rounds out the three-way tie atop today's standings. Amazon (AMZN 231.45, +3.53, +1.55%) and NIKE (NKE 65.28, +1.96, +3.09%) provide solid support, while strength in homebuilder names sends the iShare U.S. Home Construction ETF 1.4% higher. 

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+0.1%) adds modest gains to this week's run of outperformance, reflecting the prevailing view that the Fed will deliver a rate cut at today's meeting.

Overall, the broader market continues to drift in wait-and-see mode, with investors reluctant to make meaningful moves until Fed Chair Powell's remarks provide clearer direction this afternoon.

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index 4.8%; Prior -1.4%
• Q3 Employment Cost Index 0.8% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%); Prior 0.9%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it was an inflation-friendly report, evidenced by wages and salaries decelerating on a year-over-year basis for civilian workers (3.5% vs 3.9% a year ago), private industry (3.6% vs 3.8% a year ago), and state and local government workers (3.5% vs 4.6% a year ago).