Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is having its best session of the week so far, with the S&P 500 (+0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%), and DJIA (+0.5%) holding solid gains just before midday.

There is a notable improvement in breadth today, with advancers outpacing decliners by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a roughly 3-to-5 clip on the Nasdaq. Stocks were given a boost just before the open after the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it will at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal securities beginning September 9. The 30-year note yield is down seven basis points to 4.21%.

Homebuilders and other rate-sensitive stocks are among the outperformers, adding strength to the consumer discretionary sector (+1.9%), which is also supported by solid post-earnings moves from Target (TGT 160.94, +8.46, +5.55%) and Lowe's (LOW 222.15, +6.51, +3.02%).

While solid, those gains pale in comparison to Moderna's (MRNA 141.85, +78.89, +125.30%), which skyrocketed after its experimental cancer vaccine with Merck (MRK 149.62, +14.45, +10.69%) showed positive results. The health care sector is up 3.1%.

Despite several positive catalysts for the market, gains at the index level continue to be limited by weakness across semiconductor stocks, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 1.6%.