Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has spent the first half of the session trading in an orderly, mostly higher fashion that has the S&P 500 (+0.7%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%), and DJIA (+0.6%) seated with similar gains. 

Broad strength underscores the index-level advance, with advancers outpacing decliners by a greater than 2-to-1 margin on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. 

Ten S&P 500 sectors trade higher, with several notable outperformers. 

The materials sector (+1.4%) holds the widest gain, supported by a strong day for gold and other precious metals that have Newmont Corporation (NEM 105.14, +3.85, +3.80%) and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX 50.74, +1.59, +3.23%) trading higher. 

The financials sector (+1.3%) holds a similar gain as all of its components trade higher. The sector now holds a 4.1% month-to-date gain, the best across the eleven S&P 500 sectors by over 1.0%. 

The energy sector (+1.1%) rounds out the top three movers as the price of oil increases $1.40 (+2.5%) to $57.92 per barrel. Notably, the U.S. is in pursuit of another sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela after seizing a second ship over the weekend. 

Though not the rally that defined the previous two sessions, the market also benefits from some lingering optimism around the AI trade, with chipmakers among today's outperformers. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is up 1.2%, with names such as First Solar (FSLR 283.06, +16.08, +6.02%), Micron (MU 272.20, +6.28, +2.36%), and NVIDIA (NVDA 183.28, +2.29, +1.27%) contributing to strength. 

Mega-cap names in the information technology sector (+0.5%) and elsewhere are mostly higher, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.6%) holding a solid gain.

Only the consumer staples sector (-0.3%) trades lower as renewed strength in growth stocks draws money out of the defensively oriented sector. 

Meanwhile, the small-cap Russell 2000 (+1.5%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.0%) outperform their larger-cap counterparts, a trend that has been evident since the start of December. 

There were no economic data releases of note today.