Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has refused to buckle to any concerted selling interest, whether it has been driven by a news catalyst or simply an expectation that the market is overbought on a short-term basis and due for a pullback. Instead, it has been locked in a hopeful stance with an eye on the U.S.-China trade talks in London.

There have been no details on those talks, which are in their second day, but White House officials have indicated the talks are going well, according to CNBC. That update came shortly before a report that President Trump told Fox News that Iran is becoming "much more aggressive" in nuclear talks.

The latter headline, which hit close to 11:30 a.m. ET, provided the only real volatility in today's trade, as it was met with some knee-jerk selling that took the S&P 500 from 6,022 to 6,005 in a flash. Just as quickly, though, the market rebounded, and the S&P 500 moved to session highs where it currently sits. 

While the overall buying interest has been tempered, various trends have been persistent throughout today's trade:

• Small-cap stocks, as a class, are outperforming (again). The Russell 2000 is up 0.7%.
• The high-beta factor is outperforming (again).
• The semiconductor stocks are outperforming (again). The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is up 2.0%.
• The energy sector (+2.2%) is outperforming (again), rising along with WTI crude futures ($65.84, +0.59, +0.9%).

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors are higher. The lone holdout is the industrials sector (-0.4%), with GE Aerospace (GE 241.13, -10.28, -4.09%) acting as a key drag. Coming into today, GE was up 43% from its April 21 low.

Another stock losing ground in a more meaningful fashion is J.M. Smucker (SJM 94.64, -17.21, -15.39%), which disappointed investors by taking a large impairment charge for its Hostess business and issuing FY26 EPS guidance well below the current consensus estimate. The consumer staples sector (+0.1%), though, remains in positive territory.

The majority of stocks are on positive ground. Advancers lead decliners by a roughly 2-to-1 margin at the NYSE and by a nearly 7-to-4 margin at the Nasdaq.

The May NFIB Small Business Optimism Index was the lone economic release today, and it took an uplifting turn with a 98.8 print versus 95.8 in April.

Separately, the 2-yr note yield is unchanged at 4.00%, and the 10-yr note yield is down two basis points to 4.47%.