Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have pulled back to start the final week of 2025, with the S&P 500 (-0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.7%), and DJIA (-0.6%) a touch above session lows early in the afternoon. 

While the S&P 500 notched record highs last week on relatively light volume and little news flow, the major averages are under pressure as most of the market's largest names face some profit-taking today. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 187.02, -3.50, -1.84%), Broadcom (AVGO 348.50, -3.63, -1.03%), and Oracle (ORCL 194.78, -3.21, -1.62%) are among the AI plays that contribute to weakness in the information technology sector (-0.8%). Relative weakness across chipmakers seats the PHLX Semiconductor Index (-0.9%) with a similar loss. 

Tesla (TSLA 466.15, -9.04, -1.90%) is another mega-cap laggard, providing weak leadership for the consumer discretionary sector (-0.9%), which faces losses in the majority of its components. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is down 0.8%, which mirrors losses across the major averages. 

Elsewhere, the materials sector (-1.1%) holds the widest loss as metal prices retreat from record highs. Precious metals miner Newmont Corporation (NEM 99.85, -5.93, -5.61%), which has outperformed amid the recent metals rally, is the worst-performing S&P 500 name today. 

Meanwhile, the energy sector (+1.0%) is supported by a $1.27 (+2.2%) increase in the price of oil to $58.01 per barrel. 

The utilities sector (+0.6%) is the only other S&P 500 sector to hold a gain wider than 0.1%, rising as investors look for more defensive positions amid the tech selloff. 

While there has been a dearth of corporate news, several geopolitical headlines have contributed to a backdrop of uncertainty. Notably, Bloomberg reported that China has begun conducting military exercises off the coast of Taiwan. 

Additionally, talks of a potential negotiation to end the war in Ukraine seemed to be gaining steam over the weekend. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said via X that "President Trump has concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine." However, the situation remains touchy, as USA Today reported shortly after that Russia claims Ukraine attempted to strike Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence, with Ukraine denying the claims. 

Reviewing today's data:

• November Pending Home Sales 3.3% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%); Prior was revised to 2.4% from 1.9%