Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.0%), and DJIA (-0.4%) sit mostly higher early in the afternoon, with solid tech leadership and falling oil prices pushing the S&P 500 to a fresh record high.

The information technology sector (+1.5%) has come down from its best levels of the session, but remains the top-performing S&P 500 sector as semiconductor stocks start the holiday-abbreviated week sharply higher. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is up 4.6%, with Micron (MU 883.51, +132.51, +17.64%) leading all S&P 500 components after UBS raised its price target on the stock to $1,625 from $535 and reiterated its buy rating.

Other memory names, such as Western Digital (WDC 526.24, +41.96, +8.66%) and Sandisk (SNDK 1596.84, +118.15, +7.99%), outperform as well, though NVIDIA (NVDA 213.71, -1.62, -0.75%) is a laggard as it continues to face pressure after last week's blowout earnings report.

Elsewhere, the industrials sector (+1.3%) is another top mover, with electrical product names such as Eaton (ETN 405.86, +14.51, +3.71%) and GE Vernova (GEV 1077.11, +38.37, +3.69%) trading higher in sympathy with semiconductors. United Airlines (UAL 105.58, +5.62, +5.62%) is the sector's best-performing component, with general enthusiasm across airline names today as crude oil retreats.

WTI crude oil is currently down $2.48 (-2.6%) to $94.12 per barrel following commentary from President Trump that negotiations with Iran are "proceeding nicely", though the enthusiasm has been somewhat tempered by reports that the U.S. conducted "self-defense" strikes against Iranian targets in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Even so, Treasury yields are lower across the curve, and oil-sensitive and rate-sensitive pockets of the market are relative outperformers.

Construction materials names such as Martin Marietta (MLM 557.40, +20.92, +3.90%) lead strength in the materials sector (+1.1%).

Gains are more modest elsewhere, and sector strength is now mixed after a broadly higher opening. The energy sector (-2.0%) holds the widest loss as oil retreats, while the consumer staples sector (-1.7%) faces broad weakness and particularly sharp losses across alcoholic beverage names such as Constellation Brands (STZ 143.89, -5.61, -3.75%).

On the earnings front, AutoZone (AZO 3052.00, -354.50, -10.41%) moves sharply lower after delivering a mixed Q3 earnings report, with a sizable EPS beat offset by slightly light revenue and meaningful gross margin pressure tied to inflation-related accounting impacts. The stock is the worst-performing name in the consumer discretionary sector (-0.3%) and the S&P 500 as a whole.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+1.6%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.2%) outperform as Treasury yields move lower.

For now, today's session reflects continued enthusiasm across semiconductor and AI-linked names, while lower oil prices and Treasury yields support broader participation outside of mega-cap technology.

Reviewing today's data:

• The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 93.1 in May (Briefing.com consensus: 92.0) from an upwardly revised 93.8 (from 92.8) in April. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 98.4.
  
  • The key takeaway from the report is that inflation pressures had consumers feeling less optimistic about current conditions; however, those same pressures did not squash expectations for better conditions six months from now.
• April S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index increased 0.8% (Briefing.com consensus 1.0%) following a previous increase of 0.9%.
  The March FHFA Housing Price Index increased 0.1% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%), with the prior reading revised to -0.1% (from 0.0%).