The S&P 500 (-0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%), and DJIA (-0.4%) spent the entirety of the session in a tight range near their unchanged levels, while the Russell 2000 (+0.2%) furthered its stretch of outperformance in December. 

Advancers outpaced decliners by a roughly 5-to-4 clip on the NYSE and Nasdaq, an improvement from yesterday's negative breadth figures that reflects the subdued back-and-forth action that has defined the market over the past several sessions. 

Five S&P 500 sectors finished higher, which was also an improvement from yesterday's action that saw only the information technology sector notch a gain. However, relatively subdued performances across the market's largest names limited the size of gains today. 

The information technology sector (+0.2%) managed a more modest gain today, shaking off an opening loss. NVIDIA (NVDA 184.92, -0.64, -0.34%) traded lower despite President Trump stating via Truth Social that the company will be allowed to sell its advanced H200 chips in China, though the U.S. government will take 25% of the profits. 

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.2%) also shook off an early loss, supported by Tesla (TSLA 445.18, +5.60, +1.27%) taking back some of yesterday's 3.4% slide. The stock was a standout across a quiet day for the mega-caps that saw the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF finish flat.

The sector is also home to today's worst-performing S&P 500 name, AutoZone (AZO 3493.36, -273.60, -7.26%). The stock moved sharply lower after posting its sixth consecutive EPS miss.

Meanwhile, the energy sector (+0.7%) captured the widest gain despite crude oil futures settling today's session $0.58 lower (-1.0%) at $58.26 per barrel. Exxon Mobil (XOM 118.23, +2.25, +1.94%) captured a solid gain after updating its 2030 outlook, now targeting $25 billion of earnings growth and $35 billion of cash flow growth.

As for today's retreating sectors, losses were relatively modest, with only the health care sector (-1.0%) closing with a loss of 1.0% or wider. A majority of the sector's components traded lower, though CVS Health (CVS 78.22, +1.69, +2.21%) notched a nice gain after raising its FY25 outlook. 

While the financials sector (-0.3%) did not finish with one of the widest losses, it was subject to one of the more notable intraday swings, moving lower after JPMorgan Chase (JPM 300.47, -14.74, -4.68%) disclosed projected 2026 firmwide expenses of approximately $105 billion. That figure represents roughly 11% growth over the projected 2025 expense base of about $95 billion and lands about 3.6% above current Wall Street expectations for 2026.

While today's action featured some notable stock-specific moves in reaction to earnings and guidance, things remained relatively quiet at the index level as the market awaits tomorrow's FOMC meeting. Several recent sessions of similar narratives leave the major averages mixed for the month of December, with all three indices within 1.0% of their unchanged month-to-date levels, reflecting a market in search of new catalysts heading into the end of the year. 

U.S. Treasuries were lacking buyers today, who exercised restraint in front of the FOMC decision tomorrow. The 2-year note yield settled up three basis points to 3.61%, and the 10-year note yield settled up one basis point to 4.18%. 

• Nasdaq Composite: +22.1% YTD
• S&P 500: +16.3% YTD
• Russell 2000: +13.3% YTD
• DJIA: +11.8% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +5.7% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• The October JOLTS report showed 7.670 million job openings versus estimates that were closer to 7.200 million. Job openings in the year-ago period were 7.615 million. Job openings for September were estimated to be 7.658 million based on partial data for businesses that self-reported during the government shutdown and data collected in November after the shutdown.
• The September Leading Economic Index registered a 0.3% decline following an upwardly revised 0.3% decline (from -0.5%) for August.