Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are off to another good start today, with solid tech leadership lifting the S&P 500 (+0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.2%), and DJIA (+0.3%) higher across the board. The S&P 500 reclaimed its 50-day moving average (6,895.87), which was violated on a closing basis on Monday. 

The information technology sector (+1.3%) leads the early advance, supported by broad strength throughout the sector. The iShares GS Software ETF (+1.7%) looks to get back another chunk of recent prolonged weakness, with Oracle (ORCL 150.58, +4.44, +3.04%) a standout after being upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer. 

Semiconductors are also off and running ahead of NVIDIA's (NVDA 195.63, +2.78, +1.44%) earnings release after the close. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is up 1.9%. 

Gains across other mega-cap names help the communication services (+0.9%) and consumer discretionary sectors (+0.3%) despite mixed strength within the sectors. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 1.3%, helping the market-weighted S&P 500 (+0.5%) outperform the S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index (+0.1%).

Meanwhile, there is some weakness across defensive sectors today as growth stocks post solid gains, with the consumer staples (-1.1%) and utilities (-0.9%) sectors among the worst performers. 

Separately, the energy sector (-1.2%) also lags as the price of oil decreases $0.30 (-0.5%) to $65.33 per barrel.