Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (1.3%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.5%), and DJIA (+1.1%) are maintaining their solid opening gains an hour into today's session. 

While growth stocks are outperforming today, more defensive pockets of the market are still trading with modest gains as the early strength now encompasses all eleven S&P 500 sectors. 

Dollar Tree (DLTR 113.12, +5.66, +5.26%) leads the consumer staples sector (+0.5%) this morning following its Q4 (Jan) earnings report this morning. The initial reaction was muted, but shares moved higher during the call. The dollar store chain narrowly beat on EPS following three consecutive fairly large EPS beats, while revenue was in-line. Q1 (Apr) EPS guidance was somewhat lackluster with the midpoint below consensus, while full-year guidance was generally in-line.

The positive reaction in shares appears driven primarily by a positive earnings call and relief around the company's full-year comparable sales outlook of +3-4%. Investor expectations had become somewhat cautious following weak guidance from peer Dollar General (DG 135.16, +3.32, +2.52%) last week, raising concerns about demand trends across the dollar-store space. Additionally, sentiment was already depressed heading into the report after DLTR shares had fallen roughly 20% over the past month.