Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are putting together a solid midweek session as the market's resilience to geopolitical developments combines with some relief in oil prices today. While the conflict in Iran continues into its fifth day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the Trump administration will be making a series of announcements to mitigate the rise in oil prices.

Currently, the S&P 500 (+0.8%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.4%), and DJIA (+0.6%) trade in a relatively tight range near session highs. Crude oil is back above its flatline, currently trading $0.50 (+0.7%) higher at $75.06 a barrel. Crude's price action has been choppy today, but even as it sits near session highs, the increase pales in comparison to previous sessions. 

As a result, the energy sector (-1.0%) is the worst-performing S&P 500 sector today, one of just three that trades lower. 

Losses elsewhere are relatively modest and limited to the consumer staples (-0.4%) and real estate (-0.5%) sectors. 

Meanwhile, the broader market advances on solid participation, with some of its largest components among the outperformers. 

Amazon (AMZN 215.10, +6.37, +3.05%) and Tesla (TSLA 404.22, +11.79, +3.00%) are both mega-cap standouts, helping the consumer discretionary sector (+1.9%) claim the top spot on today's leaderboard. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is currently up 1.3%

Travel-related names are seeing a nice rebound from recent weakness, while Ross Stores (ROST 212.44, +14.80, +7.49%) outperforms after topping earnings expectations. 

The top-weighted information technology sector (+1.7%) trails just slightly, supported by broad strength across its components. 

Memory storage names such as Seagate Tech (STX 386.14, +28.52, +7.97%) and Micron (MU 405.40, +25.72, +6.78%) are among the outperformers, rebounding nicely from a sharp retreat yesterday and helping the PHLX Semiconductor Index (+2.1%) move higher. 

Packaged software stocks such as AppLovin (APP 470.14, +31.25, +7.12%) are also charting solid gains, with the iShares GS Software ETF (+1.9%) expanding its recent rebound efforts. 

Elsewhere, Coinbase Global (COIN 210.89, +28.53, +15.64%) and Robinhood Markets (HOOD 82.28, +6.21, +8.16%) lead the strength in the financials sector (+0.5%) as Bitcoin climbs over 7% to reclaim the $73,000 mark, adding to the improved sentiment across the market today. 

The Russell 2000 (+1.1%) holds a solid gain, while the S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.2%) trails. 

Altogether, the market is displaying a noticeably calmer disposition today. Solid tech and mega-cap leadership combine with broad strength to easily push the major averages to nice gains. However, the major averages remain below their 50-day moving averages, as investors remain cautious amid heightened geopolitical volatility. 

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index 11.0%; Prior 0.4%
• February ADP Employment Change 63K (Briefing.com consensus 42K); Prior was revised to 11K from 22K
• February S&P Global U.S. Services PMI - Final 51.7; Prior 52.3
• February ISM Non-Manufacturing Index 56.1% (Briefing.com consensus 53.9%); Prior 53.8%
  • The key takeaway from the report is the recognition that activity in the nation's largest sector accelerated in February. While this is survey-based data, it will nonetheless create a sense of optimism about Q1 growth prospects.