Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%), and DJIA (+0.6%) hold gains shortly after the open as ten S&P 500 sectors trade higher.

The communication services sector (+0.9%) is an early standout as Alphabet (GOOG 322.66, +4.27, +1.34%) rebounds from yesterday's weakness. 

Netflix (NFLX 102.45, -0.77, -0.75%) has pared the majority of its premarket loss that surpassed 4.0%. The company entered into an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD 25.30, +0.76, +3.12%) in a cash and stock transaction worth $72 billion. 

Just released, personal income increased 0.4% month-over-month in September (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) following a 0.4% increase in August.

Personal spending jumped 0.3% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) following a downwardly revised 0.5% increase in August (from 0.6%).

The PCE Price Index was up 0.3% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus: 0.3%) from a 0.3% increase in August.

The Core PCE Price Index was up 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus: 0.3%) from a 0.2% increase in August.

The preliminary December University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index registered at 53.3 (Briefing.com consensus 52.0) from a final November reading of 51.0.