Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The trend-down session has deepened as the final hour approaches, with extended losses in mega-cap and semiconductor stocks keeping the major indices under pressure and pinned near session lows. The Nasdaq Composite continues to underperform, while the Russell 2000’s 1.7% decline shows that the weakness extends beyond the largest growth stocks.

Participation has deteriorated markedly. Advancers led decliners by a 2-to-1 margin at the NYSE earlier, but decliners now hold an 8-to-5 advantage. Sector support has also narrowed, with only six sectors higher versus nine earlier in the day. Information technology (-2.6%), communication services (-2.6%), and consumer discretionary (-1.6%) are the biggest laggards, pressured by their mega-cap constituents.

The Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK 89.72, -2.34, -2.55%) is a good proxy for the mega-cap weakness. Including today's losses, it is down 5.0% for the week.