Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.3%) remains modestly lower with most sectors holding losses while energy (+1.2%) trades firmly ahead, reversing from yesterday's underperformance.

The energy sector is the strongest performer in the early hours (+1.2%) while real estate tracks just around even (unch) and the nine others lag behind, contributing to a modest loss today for the S&P 500. Crude Oil has seen a $1.83 gain to $72.07 a barrel, with the 2.7% change brining it into positive territory (0.8%) for the year.

Chevron (CVX 148.64, +2.61, +1.8%) and Exxon Mobil (XOM 114.28, +1.78, +1.6%) have both posted gains today with the increasing oil prices. Chevron is rising to its best level since early April with its 200-day moving average (149.59) after Chevron USA announced that it has acquired two leasehold acreage positions to enter the domestic lithium sector. The estimated total leasehold position is around 125,000 net acres in Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas. Exxon Mobil, for its part, is also returning to a level last seen in early April amid bullish options flow.