Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.0%), and DJIA (-0.1%) are mostly higher today as some softness in the broader market weighs against solid mega-cap and tech leadership. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite quickly notched fresh record highs with this morning's advance.

The DJIA traded higher as well, but participation in the broader market has worsened from the morning, and a few post-earnings laggards such as Amgen (AMGN 326.66, -19.59, -5.66%) and Chevron (CVX 190.32, -2.99, -1.55%) weigh on the 30-stock index.

Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL 283.00, +11.65, +4.29%) is trading firmly higher after topping earnings expectations and issuing upside guidance for the next quarter.

Microsoft (MSFT 413.52, +5.74, +1.41%) contributes to the mega-cap gains in the information technology sector (+1.4%). The stock has reclaimed some of yesterday's post earnings skid, with the iShares GS Software ETF up 3.2% as the broader software space rebounds.

Elsewhere in the sector, Seagate Tech (STX 716.17, +42.53, +6.31%) extends its post-earnings gains, supported by a solid earnings report from peer Western Digital (WDC 426.72, -7.80, -1.79%), though the stock itself has faced some "sell the news" weakness.

Outside the technology sector, gains are increasingly modest, with the exception of the consumer discretionary sector (+0.9%). Tesla (TSLA 394.52, +12.89, +3.38%) and Amazon (AMZN 268.42, +3.36, +1.27%) add to today's mega-cap strength that has the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF up 1.1%.

As a result, the market-weighted S&P 500 (+0.5%) outperforms the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (flat).

While four S&P 500 sectors currently trade lower, only the energy (-1.5%) and industrials (-0.7%) sectors hold losses wider than 0.2%. Both sectors face pressure in a handful of components that trade lower after earnings, while the energy sector lags amid another retreat in oil prices today.

Crude oil is currently down $3.26 (-3.1%) to $101.81 per barrel as reports circulate that Iran has sent a revised peace proposal to Pakistan.

After a hot start this morning, the major averages have leveled off and are trading in a tight range, as the early momentum gives way to more selective buying amid weakening breadth outside of the mega-cap space.

Reviewing today's data:

• April S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI - Final 54.5; Prior 54.0
• April ISM Manufacturing Index 52.7% (Briefing.com consensus 53.1%); Prior 52.7%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it had some stagflation aspects for the manufacturing sector, namely low growth, a further contraction in employment, and a stark increase in the prices index, which has risen 25.6 percentage points in the last three months.