Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.2%), and DJIA (-0.1%) are slightly lower as breadth figures are tight and sector strength is a nearly even split this morning. 

The health care sector (-0.6%) is the only S&P 500 sector with a gain or loss wider than 0.5%, highlighting the flattish disposition of the market this morning. 

The information technology sector (-0.2%) is now slightly negative after a modest early gain, with its move lower pushing the major averages beneath their flatlines. NVIDIA (NVDA 181.90, +2.31, +1.28%) holds a solid gain, though relative weakness across other chipmakers has the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 0.8%. 

Meta Platforms (META 665.09, +25.49, +3.99%) is a standout among mega-cap names this morning, trading higher after Bloomberg reported that the company is considering budget cuts up to 30% for its metaverse group next year. The communications services sector (+0.1%) holds just a slight gain, as Meta's strength is masked by a loss in Alphabet (GOOG 316.82, -3.80, -1.19%).

Just released, factory orders increased 0.2% month-over-month in September following a 1.4% increase in August.