Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is in the midst of a broadening retreat, with the S&P 500 (-1.1%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.9%), and DJIA (0.7%) plotting session lows. The Russell 2000 (-0.6%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.4%) held solid gains this morning as weakness was largely concentrated in tech and mega-cap names but have since moved lower in tandem with the broader market. 

Of the six S&P 500 sectors that now trade lower, the top-weighted information technology sector (-2.9%) remains the worse for wear by a considerable margin. 

The iShares GS Software  ETF (IGV 84.87, -4.65, -5.19%) continues to slump as Microsoft (MSFT 409.77, -13.60, -3.21%) struggles to stop its post-earnings slide, while Gartner (IT 157.40, -45.00, -22.24%) faces a sharp retreat despite topping earnings estimates of its own. 

The technology sector is also absent of support from its chipmaker names today, as the PHLX Semiconductor Index falls 2.9%. 

Teradyne (TER 280.68, +31.15, +12.48%) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR 159.60, +11.82, +8.00%) are bright spots following their earnings reports, though their current gains are considerably thinned from their best premarket levels. 

For much of the session, the information technology sector was the only sector with a loss wider than 0.5%. Losses began to accumulate in other mega-cap names, which put pressure on the consumer discretionary (-1.1%) and communication services (-0.8%) sectors as well. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is now down 2.3%, contributing to the underperformance of the market-weighted S&P 500 (-1.1%) relative to the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (-0.4%). 

Despite weakness permeating into the broader market throughout the session, a few pockets of strength remain. 

The energy sector (+2.5%) holds the widest gain as the price of oil rebounds from yesterday's weakness, with crude oil currently up $1.10 (+1.7%) to $63.24 per barrel. 

Similarly, the materials sector (+1.9%) advances as gold and silver prices rebound from a sharp retreat over the weekend, while Ball Corp (BALL 62.33, +5.64, +9.95%) trades sharply higher after topping earnings estimates. 

Elsewhere, the defensive consumer staples (+2.3%) and utilities (+1.6%) outperform amid the weakness in growth stocks today. PepsiCo (PEP 162.27, +7.07, +4.56%) is another notable mover after beating earnings estimates. 

Still, the outsized weakness across the market's largest names, combined with weakening breadth, keeps the major averages firmly lower entering the afternoon. Though the major averages notched gains with relative ease yesterday, the CBOE Volatility Index is up 15.7% to 18.91, suggesting that yesterday's improved risk sentiment has faded to a more uneasy disposition. 

There was no economic data of note this morning.