Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.4%), and DJIA (+0.3%) are mostly lower just before midday, with the major averages giving up the bulk of their early gains as semiconductor stocks come under pressure.

After a modest opening gain, the PHLX Semiconductor Index is down 4.9%. There is some weakness across chip equipment names, particularly ASML (ASML 1619.63, -137.46, -7.82%) after The Information reported that China is mass-producing DUV chipmaking tools. NVIDIA (NVDA 196.48, -10.36, -5.01%) is a "magnificent seven" laggard, and the information technology sector (-1.6%) is one of the worst-performing S&P 500 sectors.

The energy sector (-1.7%) holds the widest loss as crude oil retreats sharply back towards the $83 per barrel mark after the U.S. paused military strikes on Iran.

Crude's retreat provides a supportive backdrop for the broader market, with six S&P 500 sectors trading higher and advancers outpacing decliners by a nearly 2-to-1 clip on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+0.7%) outperforms the market-weighted S&P 500 (-0.1%). However, there are still some solid mega-cap gains in the fold. Apple (AAPL 339.15, +6.13, +1.84%) trades to a new all-time high, while Alphabet (GOOG 327.55, +8.46, +2.65%) garners some buy-the-dip interest after last week's post-earnings slide.