Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%), and DJIA (+0.4%) hold decent gains shortly after the open, though stocks have dipped from stronger opening gains. 

Strength is mixed, with six S&P 500 sectors trading higher. The communication services sector (+1.3%) is the early standout, as Meta Platforms (META 631.69, +18.73, +3.06%) and Alphabet (GOOG 331.88, +3.50, +1.07%) both provide solid leadership.

Mega-caps are garnering some buy-the-dip interest this morning, as the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 0.6%, though it is still down 1.1% for the week.

Gains elsewhere are limited to 0.5% or less, though the top-weighted information technology sector (+0.5%) is among the better performers. 

Losses are also modest, with the utilities sector (-0.6%) holding the widest loss.

Just released, personal income increased 0.3% month-over-month in November (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%).

Personal spending jumped 0.5% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%).

The PCE Price Index was up 0.2% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%) in November, and the core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%).