Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock has expanded upon yesterday's strong start to the week, with the S&P 500 (+0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%), and DJIA (+0.9%) sitting higher across the board just after midday. Strength has broadened throughout the session, and the DJIA notched a fresh all-time high level for the second consecutive day this week. 

Eight S&P 500 sectors trade higher, with several notable moves in the mix. 

The materials sector (+2.0%) leads the advance as precious metal prices rally to challenge recent record-high levels. 

The health care sector (+1.8%) is another top mover, supported by a sharp gain in Moderna (MRNA 35.39, +3.22, +10.01%), while nearly all of the sector's components trade higher. 

UnitedHealth (UNH 352.46, +10.44, +3.05%) is a point of strength that contributes to the DJIA's push to fresh record highs. President Trump told GOP lawmakers in a speech that he will meet with health insurance companies in the coming days. 

Chipmakers are extending their early advance this year, with a 2.4% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index underscoring the information technology sector's (+0.6%) strength. 

Memory storage names such as Sandisk (SNDK 341.02, +66.94, +24.42%) and Western Digital (WDC 217.16, +29.28, +15.58%) continue to rally, with CNBC noting that memory is trading at a premium as the AI buildout drives higher demand for AI-related applications.  Microchip (MCHP 73.88, +6.82, +10.17%) also holds a double-digit gain after providing a significant upward revision to its fiscal Q3 revenue guidance. 

Meanwhile, NVIDIA (NVDA 189.18, +1.06, +0.56%) holds a modest chunk of its gain from earlier levels that followed the announcement of its Rubin chip launch at CES. 

The company also announced an expansion into the autonomous driving sector with its open-source Alpamayo platform, a headline that has sent rideshare names higher and Tesla (TSLA 430.36, -21.31, -4.72%) sharply lower. 

Amazon (AMZN 241.69, +8.63, +3.70%) continues to be a mega-cap standout this week, and in conjunction with another rally in travel industry names, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.8%) has been able to shake off Tesla's loss. 

The communication services sector (-0.8%), however, faces the wrong end of the market's mixed mega-cap performances that see the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.1%) remain near its baseline. 

Elsewhere, the energy sector (-2.0%) faces the widest loss as several stocks that rallied in response to developments in Venezuela, including Halliburton (HAL 30.96, -0.97, -3.04%) and Chevron (CVX 157.46, -6.39, -3.90%), give back a chunk of yesterday's strength. 

The utilities sector (-0.3%) holds a more modest loss. 

Ultimately, broad participation in today's rally, led by chipmakers and mega-cap names, has pushed the DJIA to a fresh all-time high, while the S&P 500 hovers just 0.2% shy of its record level.

Reviewing today's data: 

• The final reading of the December S&P Global U.S. Services PMI registered at 52.5, from a prior level of 52.9.