Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has seen another day of muted action so far, with the S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%), and DJIA (-0.2%) currently sitting mixed. 

Sector strength is fairly solid, with seven S&P 500 sectors trading higher, which starkly contrasts yesterday's action that saw only the information technology sector finish with a gain. Additionally, today's breadth figures (advancers outpace decliners by a roughly 2-to-1 margin on the NYSE and a roughly 5-to-3 clip on the Nasdaq) are an almost perfect inversion of yesterday's negative breadth figures, reflecting some back-and-forth action in the market ahead of tomorrow's FOMC decision. 

Gains and losses are relatively modest, with the energy sector (+1.0%) moving the furthest from its unchanged level despite a $0.66 (-1.1%) decrease in the price of oil to $58.22 per barrel. Exxon Mobil (XOM 118.87, +2.89, +2.49%) holds a solid gain after updating its 2030 outlook, now targeting $25 billion of earnings growth and $35 billion of cash flow growth. 

CVS Health (CVS 78.80, +2.27, +2.96%) also posts a solid gain after lifting its outlook, though the broader health care sector (-0.4%) holds the widest loss today as the sector continues to struggle in December. Dow component Merck (MRK 96.63, -2.30, -2.32%) is a notable laggard. 

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.4%) has done a nice job of reversing an early loss, aided by Tesla (TSLA 451.75, +12.17, +2.77%) recovering the bulk of yesterday's weakness. 

Meanwhile, a loss in Meta Platforms (META 655.74, -11.06, -1.66%) prevents the communication services sector (flat) from breaching its unchanged level and reflects the mixed disposition of the market's largest names today. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is flat. 

The financials sector (flat) has trended in the other direction, losing a solid early gain as JPMorgan Chase (JPM 305.01, -10.20, -3.24%) slips following comments at the Goldman Financial Services Conference. Importantly, management says they see investment banking fees to be up low single digits year-over-year and Q4 markets revenue to be up low teens year-over-year at this point.

The market received a few earnings reports before the open, with AutoZone (AZO 3474.21, -292.75, -7.77%) lagging after an earnings miss and Campbell Soup (CPB 28.33, -1.71, -5.71%) seeing outsized losses in reaction to poor guidance.