Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%), and DJIA (+0.4%) hold solid gains shortly after midday, supported by solid mega-cap gains and a broader market that leans mostly higher. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 1.0%, keeping with Friday's trend of outperformance ahead of a busy week of mega-cap earnings. Four "magnificent seven" names will report this week, with several of those names starting the week with solid gains. 

Meta Platforms (META 673.78, +15.02, +2.28%) expands upon solid gains from the back half of last week. Additionally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a target price of $900. 

Alphabet (GOOG 335.59, +7.16, +2.18%) (which does not report earnings this week) adds to the strength in the communication services sector (+1.7%), which is now the best-performing S&P 500 sector by a considerable margin. 

Apple (AAPL 254.51, +6.47, +2.61%) and Microsoft (MSFT 472.78, +6.83, +1.47%) are also off to solid starts ahead of their earnings reports, helping the information technology sector (+1.0%) capture a similar gain despite an underwhelming performance from chipmakers that has the PHLX Semiconductor Index trading 0.2% lower.  Intel (INTC 42.83, -2.24, -4.98%) is a notable laggard, expanding upon last week's post-earnings slide. 

Tesla (TSLA 438.38, -10.68, -2.38%) is also under pressure today, making it the only stock from this week's upcoming batch of "mag seven" earnings reports to trade in negative territory. The weakness weighs on the consumer discretionary sector (-0.6%), which is the worst-performing sector, as around half of its components trade lower. 

Only the consumer staples (-0.2%) and energy (-0.2%) sectors also hold modest losses. 

Meanwhile, other notable gains come from the utilities sector (+0.8%), which is supported by solid gains in electrical utilities names as winter storm Fern causes widespread outages, and the materials sector (+0.8%), which holds a similar gain as precious metals surge to fresh record highs. 

The surge in gold prices is largely attributed to some geopolitical and domestic tensions, though they have not weighed too heavily on the broader market yet. Notably, President Trump stated he would implement 100% tariffs on Canada if they enter a free trade agreement with Canada. Additionally, Senate Democrats are signaling that they won't approve a government funding package that includes DHS funding, making an imminent shutdown a possibility. 

While those could turn into potential market-moving headlines as the week progresses, they have so far remained a secondary consideration for investors. For now, the market is advancing in a measured fashion, with steady participation and clear leadership from mega-cap growth stocks keeping risk appetite intact.

Reviewing today's data:

• Durable goods orders jumped 5.3% month-over-month in November (Briefing.com consensus: 1.1%) following an upwardly revised 2.1% decline (from -2.2%) for October. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders rose 0.5% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus: 0.3%) following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase (from 0.2%) for October.
  
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it showed good business spending activity, evidenced by the 0.7% month-over-month jump in nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft.