Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened this earnings-heavy week on a strong note, supported by a strong report from Verizon (VZ 42.92, +2.08, +5.08%) this morning and some lingering trade deal optimism.

Equity futures pointed higher this morning, and a strong start quickly pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to new record highs. 

Nine of the eleven S&P 500 sectors are in positive territory, and gains are evident across stocks of all sizes. Mega-cap stocks have performed the best, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF showing a gain of 0.6%, while the Russell 2000 is up 0.3%, and the S&P MidCap 400 holds a more modest gain of 0.1%.

The communication services sector (+1.7%) leads the way, as a strong earnings report from Verizon (VZ 42.87, +2.03, +5.0%) has other cellular names such as AT&T (T 27.52, +0.58, +2.1%) and T-Mobile US (TMUS 233.21, +6.00, +2.6%) trading higher. 

Elsewhere in the sector, top component Alphabet (GOOG 190.27, +4.33, +2.3%) captures early gains ahead of its earnings release on Wednesday. 

Only the energy (-0.4%) and health care (-0.2%) sectors lag, with the latter facing pressure in its biotechnology names after Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT 13.51, -0.56, -4.0%) trades lower following reports that the FDA will soon request that SRPT stop all Elevidys shipments after a third patient death. 

Nevertheless, the market as a whole has seen broad-based gains today, reiterating a positive-growth outlook and a general desire to increase exposure to the equity market.

That desire has been helped by the behavior of the Treasury market. The 2-yr note yield is down four basis points to 3.84%, and the 10-yr note yield is down eight basis points to 4.35%. Those moves have been bolstered by reports that the president is unlikely to fire Fed Chair Powell.