Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (flat), Nasdaq Composite (-0.2%), and DJIA (flat) sit mixed shortly after the open as some early weakness in mega-cap tech once again wiped out early broad-based gains. 

Broadcom (AVGO 352.27, -7.66, -2.13%) and Oracle (ORCL 183.43, -6.54, -3.44%) are among the names in the information technology sector (-0.4%) that trade lower, extending last week's slide. However, chipmakers are a general point of strength today, with NVIDIA (NVDA 177.69, +2.67, +1.53%) contributing to a 0.5% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. 

The communication services sector (-0.4%) holds a similar loss, while the energy sector (-1.0%) lags as the price of oil decreases $0.56 (-1.0%) to $56.88 per barrel. 

Meanwhile, the eight other S&P 500 sectors trade higher, though gains have narrowed since the open, which is putting pressure on the major averages. 

Cyclical and defensive sectors are continuing their recent trend of outperformance, with the consumer discretionary (+0.7%) and health care (+0.9%) sectors holding the widest gains. 

Tesla's (TSLA 479.35, +20.39, +4.44%) sharp gain underpins the consumer discretionary sector's growth, with Business Insider reporting that the company is now testing its robotaxi service without a human safety monitor in Austin, Texas. 

Just released, the NAHB Housing Market Index for December registered at 39 (Briefing.com consensus 39) from a prior level of 38.