Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages hover near their unchanged levels with the Dow (-0.1%) outperforming today, though the price-weighted average is up just 3.7% for the month versus a 5.9% month-to-date gain in the S&P 500 (-0.2%).

Today's outperformance in the Dow is largely owed to gains in nine out of the ten most influential components, even though these gains have been kept in check, as UnitedHealth (UNH 303.63, +5.46, +1.8%) is the only top component that is up more than 0.7%.

On the downside, Intel (INTC 19.83, -0.42, -2.0%) is the weakest Dow member, but it is also the lowest-priced stock so its overall impact on the average has been limited. That said, other chipmakers are also showing relative weakness today with the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 1.4%.