Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%), and DJIA (+0.4%) are higher across the board shortly after midday, though the major averages have ceded most of their opening gains. 

The market remains attuned to developments on the geopolitical and energy fronts, with oil moving higher today amid reports that Iran has struck energy infrastructure sites in the UAE and targeted another tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Crude oil is currently up $1.47 (+1.6%) to $94.97 per barrel, though it is off of its highest levels of the session. The energy sector (+1.7%) is the only S&P 500 sector that holds a gain wider than 1.0%.

While gains elsewhere are modest in comparison to yesterday's advance, participation remains solid, with ten S&P 500 sectors trading higher. 

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.9%) remains near the top of the leaderboard, supported by leadership in Amazon (AMZN 213.81, +2.07, +0.98%), which is a mega-cap standout. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 0.2%, roughly half of a percentage point off its session highs. The modest pullback across other mega-cap names from earlier highs contributes to the outperformance of the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+0.7%) relative to the market-weighted S&P 500 (+0.4%). 

Elsewhere in the sector, Expedia Group (EXPE 242.54, +11.08, +4.78%) leads the advance amid a solid day for travel-related names. 

The financials sector (+0.7%) is another relative outperformer, supported by strength across major banking names, a rebound in asset managers, and a sharp gain in Global Payments (GPN 72.39, +4.34, +6.38%), which is the best-performing S&P 500 stock today. 

Meanwhile, the top-weighted information technology sector (+0.1%) has given up the majority of its earlier gain. NVIDIA (NVDA 182.12, -1.10, -0.60%) has seen some profit-taking after the stock moved higher yesterday following CEO Jensen Huang's projections for at least $1 trillion in revenue opportunity through 2027 for Blackwell and Rubin chips. 

The PHLX Semiconductor Index (+0.1%) remains slightly higher as memory storage stocks such as Western Digital (WDC 302.14, +15.93, +5.57%) and Micron (MU 456.25, +14.45, +3.27%) see an extension of yesterday's rally. 

Corporate newsflow has been on the lighter side today, though there are still a few notable moves in the mix. 

Eli Lilly (LLY 936.29, -52.83, -5.34%) is the worst-performing S&P 500 name after HSBC downgraded the stock to Reduce from Hold with a target price of $850, with the loss weighing heavily on the health care sector (-0.6%). 

Uber (UBER 78.86, +4.20, +5.62%) outperforms after Reuters reported the company is aiming to launch a robotaxi service with NVIDIA next year. 

Delta Air Lines (DAL 64.16, +3.32, +5.46%) holds a similar gain after the company raised its Q1 revenue guidance, which supports gains across other airline names today.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 200 (+0.6%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.8%) outperform the major averages, though they too have ceded a chunk of their early strength. 

All told, the market is showing some resilience despite renewed strength in oil prices, but the pullback from earlier highs suggests a degree of caution. Participants appear reluctant to press bets too aggressively ahead of tomorrow’s FOMC decision, with investors likely looking for clarity on how policymakers are factoring the recent surge in oil prices into their inflation outlook and rate path.

Reviewing today's data:

• February Pending Home Sales 1.8% (Briefing.com consensus -0.8%); Prior was revised to -1.0% from -0.8%