Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.9%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.2%), and DJIA (+0.6%) maintain their solid gains as the market enters the final hour of the session. 

The health care sector (+1.1%) has widened its gain past 1.0% for the day as a wide slate of names, including Gilead Sciences (GILD 125.68, +4.20, +3.46%) and Merck (MRK 102.00, +1.31, +1.30%), confirmed agreements to lower drug prices for American consumers. 

The sector holds a quarter-to-date gain of 11.3%, the best by nearly 6%, after an impressive run in November as the AI trade faced weakness. The S&P 500 holds just a 2.2% quarter-to-date gain.