Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The indices are trading near their best levels of the session, although buying interest has calmed down after the opening rush.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors are trading higher.

What matters most for the S&P 500 is that the best-performing sectors are among the most heavily-weighted sectors. The information technology sector (+1.5%) -- the biggest of them all -- is the best-performing sector followed by the communication services (+1.1%), consumer discretionary (+1.1%), and industrials (+1.0%) sectors.

The consumer staples sector (-1.0%) is the biggest laggard with most components trading lower as the market takes a break from its defensive-minded shift. Notably, Walmart (WMT 97.90, +0.21, +0.2%) is not among the sector losers today.