Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.8%), the Nasdaq Composite (+1.6%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2%) maintained gains over the last half hour while the Russell 2000 underperforms (-3.8%). 

Market breadth was positive after the open, but shows a slight negative skew now. Decliners have a 4-to-3 lead over advancers at the NYSE and a fractional lead at the Nasdaq. 

The shift in breadth could reflect some selling into early strength, which led the market into a steady decline yesterday. 

Separately, WTI crude oil futures are down 4.2% today to $57.03/bbl, indicating ongoing worries about an economic slowdown weighing on demand despite upside moves in the equity market. 

The weekly EIA crude oil inventories showed a build of 2.55 million barrels after last week's build of 6.17 million barrels.