Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+1.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.8%), and DJIA (+1.1%) are sporting solid gains just before midday, supported by broad strength as oil prices retreat and continued leadership in mega-cap tech.

Eight S&P 500 sectors trade higher, with the communication services (+3.7%) and consumer discretionary (+2.7%) sectors out in front as Meta Platforms (META 591.55, +34.84, +6.26%) and Amazon (AMZN 284.42, +12.84, +4.73%) continue to add to last week's post-earnings gains, with other mega-cap heavyweights such as Alphabet (GOOG 369.88, +13.24, +3.71%) posting similar gains.

The information technology sector (+1.1%) is supported by strength in Microsoft (MSFT 482.18, +17.46, +3.76%) and NVIDIA (NVDA 207.06, +6.31, +3.14%), with the latter helping the PHLX Semiconductor Index (+0.2%) turn a nearly 3% opening loss into a slight gain. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up 1.8%.

Meanwhile, the energy sector (-0.7%) is a laggard as crude oil moves $5.20 lower (-6.1%) to $79.47 per barrel after President Trump announced a series of military strikes against Iran planned for today have been called off.

Outside the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+1.6%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.1%) hold gains similar to those of the major averages.