Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-1.0%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.2%), and DJIA (-1.7%) are under pressure this morning, quickly sending the S&P 500 below its 50-day moving average (6,900.47) and all three indices into negative week-to-date territory. 

The market is under some of the same pressures from yesterday's session, with mega-cap stocks and semiconductors among the early laggards. NVIDIA (NVDA 180.55, -4.34, -2.35%) lags after announcing a $50 billion investment in OpenAI, while Microsoft (MSFT 393.41, -8.31, -2.07%) lags amid renewed pressure across software stocks today. 

The PHLX Semiconductor Index is down 1.6%, the iShares GS Software ETF is down 2.4%, and the broader information technology sector is down 1.5%. 

The early software woes are largely attributed to Block (XYZ 62.48, +7.96, +14.59%) announcing with its earnings report that the company will reduce its workforce by roughly 40% to focus on smaller teams and AI automation. 

While Block itself is sharply higher, the financials sector (-2.2%) faces the widest retreat. Weakness is broad, but asset managers, and credit card names (which have struggled recently amid fears of AI disruption across software and white-collar labor) are among the hardest hit. 

Other cyclical sectors trade mostly lower with the exception of the energy sector (+0.7%), which is supported by a $1.77 (+2.7%) increase in the price of oil to $66.98 per barrel. 

Meanwhile, defensive sectors are garnering some modest rotational interest, with the consumer staples sector (+0.8%) the early standout. 

The February Chicago PMI increased to 57.7 (Briefing.com consensus 52.5) from a prior level of 54.0. 

Just released, construction spending increased 0.3% in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) from a previous 0.5% increase.