Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are steadily moving higher, with sustained downward pressure on oil prices pushing the S&P 500 (+0.8%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%), and DJIA (+1.0%) to session highs just before midday.

Crude oil is currently down $3.35 (-3.8%) to $84.36 per barrel as reports from both sides indicate a peace deal could be imminent. The consumer discretionary sector (-0.5%) is the only S&P 500 sector with a loss wider than 0.1%, as Amazon (AMZN 237.13, -4.38, -1.81%) is a mega-cap laggard.

The mega-cap cohort initially struggled out of the gate, but has since moved steadily higher. Alphabet (GOOG 363.40, +6.84, +1.92%) holds a nice gain after pronounced weakness over the past week, while NVIDIA (NVDA 206.70, +1.84, +0.90%) trades higher in conjunction with another strong showing from semiconductor names today. 

In combination with lingering strength across several cyclical sectors, stocks are to another solid start that puts the major averages on track for decent week-to-date gains, though the market will face an important test when SpaceX begins trading sometime today.