Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%), and DJIA (flat) have spent the entirety of the session in a tight range near their unchanged levels. 

Today's action reflects the lack of directional catalysts that has led to some back-and-forth movement across stocks as the market awaits next week's FOMC decision. 

Breadth figures are tight, and sector strength is a nearly even split, with six S&P 500 sectors currently holding gains. 

Additionally, gains and losses are relatively narrow across most sectors. 

The consumer discretionary sector (-0.9%) is a laggard as Amazon (AMZN 227.60, -4.78, -2.06%) slips below its 50-day moving average.

Mega-cap stocks are mixed today, which certainly helps keep things subdued at the index level. Meta Platforms (META 665.12, +25.52, +3.99%) is the standout, rising after Bloomberg reported this morning that the company is considering slashing its budget for its contentious metaverse group by up to 30% to focus on higher ROI AI prospects. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is flat for the day as several notable moves seemingly cancel themselves out. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 183.69, +4.10, +2.28%) is one of the market's leaders that trades higher, helping the top-weighted information technology sector (+0.4%) shake off some early weakness. 

Despite NVIDIA's gain, chipmakers are generally weaker today, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index 0.5% lower. Intel (INTC 41.16, -2.60, -5.93%) is the weakest performer in the sector, facing some profit-taking after an outsized gain in Tuesday's session. 

The market also had mixed reactions to the latest batch of earnings reports. Dollar General (DG 122.98, +13.09, +11.91%) and Salesforce (CRM 246.35, +7.63, +3.20%) trade higher after topping expectations and delivering upbeat guidance, while Snowflake (SNOW 235.37, -29.63, -11.18%) and Kroger (KR 63.18, -3.02, -4.57%) slip after issuing lighter guidance.

With no clear leadership and sector moves largely offsetting each other, the major averages remain locked in a narrow range as participants look for the next catalyst to break the stalemate.

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly Continuing Claims 1.939 mln; Prior was revised to 1.943 mln from 1.960 mln, Weekly Initial Claims 191K (Briefing.com consensus 220K); Prior was revised to 218K from 216K
  • The key takeaway from the report is initial claims dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years, which is an encouraging sign about the health of a labor market at a time when visibility remains reduced due to some missing Employment Situation reports from the BLS.
• October Trade Balance DELAYED (Briefing.com consensus -$61.3 bln); Prior -$59.6 bln
• September Factory Orders 0.2%; Prior was revised to 1.3% from 1.4%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that orders increased again in September despite a big jump in August with new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, which is a proxy for business spending, jumping 0.9% for the second month in a row.