Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (+0.3%) hold modest gains just before midday, though stocks are off of their best levels of the morning. The Russell 2000 is flat after several days of outperformance, while the S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.4%) holds a solid gain. 

Gains in the major averages come on broad strength, with eight S&P 500 sectors trading higher. 

The communication services sector (+0.7%) is near the top of the leaderboard, as Alphabet (GOOG 320.12, +1.73, +0.54%) is one of the best-performing of the mega-cap stocks, which trade in subdued fashion so far.

The sector is home to today's most widely discussed corporate news headline, as Netflix (NFLX 101.87, -1.35, -1.31%) entered into an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD 25.50, +0.96, +3.91%) in a cash and stock transaction worth $72 billion. Paramount Skydance (PSKY 13.82, -1.00, -6.71%), which also submitted a bid for WBD, is a laggard in response to the news.

Meanwhile, the defensive utilities (-0.7%) and health care (-0.3%) sectors trade lower, while the industrials sector (-0.2%) faces some profit-taking after recent outperformance. 

Stocks were little changed following the delayed release of the September PCE report that saw inflation remain higher than the Fed's target, though it has not yet had an effect on the market's expectations for a December rate cut. 

Still, gains are narrowing after a higher opening, suggesting that the market may be in store for another sideways drift ahead of next week's FOMC decision.