Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Following four straight losing sessions for the S&P 500 (and five straight for the Russell 2000), there is a rebound bid in early action that has been paced by the mega-cap stocks. NVIDIA (NVDA 130.80, +4.17, +3.3%), which reports its quarterly results after the close, is the influential pacesetter of note.

NVIDIA's gain has helped drive a 2.0% jump in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which dropped 2.3% in yesterday's trade.

The Russell 2000 (+0.7%) is on the move, but it is still down 4.5% for the month.

The defensive orientation seen yesterday has shifted. The information technology sector (+1.1%) is ahead of the pack today while yesterday's relative strength leaders -- consumer staples (-0.8%), health care (-0.6%), and real estate (-0.2%) -- are laggards in the early going.

Just in, January new home sales declined 10.5% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000 (Briefing.com consensus 681,000) from an upwardly revised 734,000 (from 698,000) in December.