Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages remain mostly higher, with the Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%) back on its baseline.

Sector strength continues to broaden, with nine S&P 500 sectors trading higher. After a lower start to the week, the defensive utilities (+2.4%), health care (+2.2%), and consumer staples (+1.6%) are among the top performers today.

While Eli Lilly's (LLY 928.58, +77.37, +9.09%) blowout earnings report certainly contributes to strength in the health care sector, the outperformance of the defensive sectors could reflect some reallocation interest as the information technology sector (-1.2%) faces selling pressure.

In addition to Microsoft's (MSFT 405.69, -18.77, -4.42%) post-earnings slide, NVIDIA (NVDA 201.74, -7.51, -3.59%) is also sharply lower today, moving into negative week-to-date territory.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index (+0.7%) still holds a decent gain, however, with support from Qualcomm (QCOM 179.11, +23.11, +14.81%) after its own earnings release.