[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks made their way to solid gains after a soft start, but pressure picked up after stocks failed to extend the advance in afternoon trade. Still, the major indices finished the session modestly higher.

A lack of upbeat headlines and a stronger dollar left buyers with little reason to get back into the action. The tepid tone was reflective of broader sentiment, which has some in fear that the stock market may be overextended after its rally in the past year -- the S&P 500 is up nearly 70% since its multiyear closing low reached exactly one year ago. While no one wants to be in a vulnerable position if a correction takes place, few want to risk missing out on further gains.

Stocks are also just 1% off of their 52-week highs, which were reached in mid-January. A stronger dollar has been a hurdle for stocks to return to that mark, though. The buck advanced a mere 0.1% this session, but that was only after it pared its gain. Initially, the greenback garnered support as the euro and British pound were pressured by news that analysts at Fitch kept a Negative outlook in place for Portugal's AA rating and that Britain's plan to halve its deficit in four years was determined to be too slow.

There were a few corporate news items, but none of them caused any major swings in the stock market. Among the headlines, Texas Instruments (TXN 24.19, -0.50) announced an improved its earnings outlook, which remains in in-line with that of Wall Street. Still, the semiconductor company's shares slipped.

Meanwhile, Cisco (CSCO 26.13, +0.00) unveiled plans for its new router, which is expected to improve the flow of content and, in turn, inspire further content development. That helped AT&T (T 25.56, +0.28) and wireless service plays (+2.8%) prop up the telecom sector, which finished 1.2% higher. Apple (AAPL 223.02, +3.94) was also helped; it gave the Nasdaq a lead over its counterparts for the second straight session.

Northrop Grumman (NOC 64.00, -0.16) announced in-line guidance for fiscal 2010, but the bigger headline was the company's decision to take itself out of contention for a contract to build next generation refueling planes. The latter item buoyed Boeing (BA 67.79, +0.55).

Treasuries came into focus with news that a $40 billion auction of 3-year Notes attracted a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.1, which is above the recent average of 2.9, and an indirect bid of 51.8%, which is on par with the recent average of 52%.

There wasn't any economic data today, but tomorrow brings monthly wholesale inventory data and the Treasury's monthly budget statement.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.2%), Industrials (+0.8%), Tech (+0.4%), Financials (+0.3%), Energy (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Materials (-0.5%), Utilities (-0.3%), Consumer Staples (-0.2%), Health Care (-0.1%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.1%)

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have extended their afternoon retreat and now stand at the flat line. Meanwhile, with few exceptions, commodities traded modestly lower for most of the session. To that point, the CRB Commodity Index closed 0.6% lower.

Precious metals prices recovered from session lows as the dollar index pared its gains from early in the session. April gold closed fractionally lower at $1121.80 per pounce after trading nearly 1.5% lower in the morning. May silver actually closed 0.4% higher at $17.34 per ounce after being down in excess of 2% in the morning.

Crude oil futures also hit lows early in the pit trade but recovered as the dollar gave up its gains. April crude oil finished 0.5% lower at $81.49 per barrel.

April natural gas, on the other hand, opened the pit session at a session high but traded lower for most of the session. It closed down just a penny at $4.52 per MMBtu.

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have turned lower after failing to extend their gains. The broader market now sits at an afternoon low.

The downward move has been most pronounced among consumer staples stocks, which are now down to a 0.1% loss. Kroger (KR 22.27, -0.63) is a primary laggard in the group, despite better-than-expected quarterly earnings and an in-line outlook. The stock is now at a fresh session low.

Retailers, now down 0.4%, have undercut the consumer discretionary sector, which is now flat after it had made its way to a modest gain earlier in the session. 

Telecom continues to hold strong to its gain, though. In turn, the sector is up 1.4% this session.

[BRIEFING.COM] Retailers have lagged for the entire session. As a group they are currently down 0.1%.

Among the weaker performers in the group, J. Crew (JCG 47.07, -0.33) is down firmly ahead of its latest quarterly results, which are expected after the close. The current consensus is for fourth quarter earnings $0.46 per share on revenue of $443.1 million. J. Crew had actually issued a forecast for fourth quarter earnings from $0.37 to $0.42 per share.

Since becoming a publicly traded company in 2006, J. Crew has missed the consensus earnings estimate only once. After the company announced better-than-expected earnings for the previous quarter, the stock spiked three points.

[BRIEFING.COM] Despite a pullback by the greenback from a 0.4% gain to a 0.1% gain, commodities continue to trade with considerable weakness. More specifically, the CRB Commodity Index is down 0.8%, which puts it only slightly above its session low.

Persistent weakness among commodities has bogged down natural resource plays. In turn, the materials sector has lagged the broader market for the greater part of this session. As a group, materials stocks are up just 0.1% at the moment.

Meanwhile, the broader market continues to trade with solid gains, though it is off of its session high. Telecom continues to outperform; stocks in the sector are up 1.6%, collectively.

[BRIEFING.COM] Small-cap stocks have run up to a 0.9% gain, as measured by the Russell 2000. That puts them comfortably ahead of the broader market.

Force Protection (FRPT 6.31, +0.83) is a primary leader among small-cap issues after the defense company announced better-than-expected results for its latest quarter.

Meanwhile, the greenback continues to pull back from its morning high. It is now up just 0.1% against a basket of foreign currencies.

[BRIEFING.COM] A stronger dollar weighed on stocks in the early going, such that another lackluster session looked to be in order. However, financial and tech stocks have since lifted to broader market to a healthy gain.

Stocks started the session on soft footing. Headlines failed to entice buyers back into action after they sat out the prior session to watch recent gains consolidate. A stronger dollar also dampened the tone of early trade; the buck had been up roughly 0.4% against competing currencies in the early going. It has since eased back to trade with a 0.2% gain.

The dollar's initial strength came at the cost of the euro and the pound after analysts at Fitch kept a Negative outlook in place for Portugal's AA rating following the country's new austerity measures, which were announced Monday, and the analysts' belief that Britain's plan to halve its deficit in four years is too slow.

Financials have emerged as a source of support for the stock market. The sector was down as much as 0.8% early on, but it has since bounded to a 0.7% gain.

Tech has also emerged with strength. The sector is up 1.0%, second only to telecom (+1.5%). Strength among large-cap tech issues like Apple (AAPL 224.41, +5.33) and telecom service providers like AT&T (T 25.65, +0.37) has been linked to news that Cisco (CSCO 26.28, +0.15) has unveiled plans for a new router, which some expect will augment content delivery and, in turn, content development.

Texas Instruments (TXN 24.24, -0.45) has failed to share in the strength of the tech sector, even though the company improved its earnings outlook. The forecast remains in in-line with that of Wall Street, though.

In other corporate news, Northrop Grumman (NOC 64.14, -0.02) will drop out of a protracted quest to win a $40 billion contract to build next generation refueling planes. That has been beneficial to shares of Boeing (BA 68.25, +1.01).

Just released, a $40 billion auction of 3-year Notes attracted a bid-to-cover of 3.1, which is well above the recent average of 2.9. Indirect bidders represented 51.8%, which is on par with the recent average of 52%.

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has extended its recent upward move so that it now trades at a fresh session high. The climb has been led by the financial sector, which is now up 0.7% after it was down as much as 0.8% in the early going. Diversified financial services stocks (+1.9%) and consumer finance stocks (+1.0%) are presently the strongest players in the financial sector.

Meanwhile, utilities are still in the red with a 0.3% loss. Utilities make up the only major sector to trade in negative ground.

[BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq 100 has made its way to a 0.7% gain, which is more than double that of the broader market. It is currently led by Apple (AAPL 223.67, +4.59), Microsoft (MSFT 28.92, +0.29), and Oracle (ORCL 24.94, +0.24). Cisco (CSCO 26.02, -0.11) is a laggard, though; investors continue to await what has been labeled a major announcement from the communications equipment company.

While large-cap tech issues are among the primary drivers of the Nasdaq 100, First Solar (FSLR 106.87, -1.77) is among the most actively traded names in the index. Shares of FSLR were recently downgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase.

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is chopping along with a modest gain. Action, in general, is lackluster.

There haven't been any recent headlines to encourage further buying among participants, especially since the dollar continues to trade with moderate strength. In turn, many traders remain on the sidelines as the stock market's recent gains continue to consolidate.

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices have put together a modest rally so that they now trade in positive territory. For the second straight session, the Nasdaq Composite is leading its counterparts.

The Nasdaq's relative strength stems from strong gains among large-cap tech issues like Research In Motion (RIMM 74.42, +1.03), which is already up some 7% since the start of the week.

Meanwhile, financials have provided a lift to the broader market. The sector had been down as much as 0.8% in the early going, but it has since made a strong move to trade with a fractional gain.

Telecom continues to trade as the best performing sector in the broader market, though. It is now up 1.4%.

[BRIEFING.COM] The US Dollar Index pulled back off of recently hit highs, which gave renewed strength to the majority of the commodity complex.

April crude oil pushed off of recent morning lows of $80.16 per barrel and has recovered most of its losses. However, the energy component continues to trade in negative territory and is currently 0.8% lower at $81.19 per barrel.

April natural gas is not being influenced much by the dollar today and is pulling back along with the dollar currently. Highs of $4.603 per MMBtu were hit near the open of pit trading, but natural gas is currently back near the flat line at $4.549 per MMBtu, up 0.5%.

Precious metals remain in negative territory, but are benefitting from weakness in the dollar. Gold is currently 0.6% lower at $1117.60 per ounce, while May silver is 0.6% lower at $17.17 per ounce.

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks continue to chop along the neutral line after a relatively soft start. However, telecom has jumped out to a strong lead for the second straight session.

Telecom stocks booked a 1.1% gain in the prior session and are already up another 1.0% this morning. Despite the strong back-to-back gains, telecom is still the worst performing sector of 2010 -- it is down 8.0% year-to-date. Integrated telecom (+0.8%) was a leader in the sector during the prior session, but wireless services stocks (+2.0%) are leaders in the latest outing.

Strength among wireless services stocks comes despite commentary during a conference call from Texas Instruments (TXN 23.94, -0.71) that the semiconductor giant expects sequential growth in all of its segments, but that wireless is the exception. However, reports indicate that Cisco Systems (CSCO 26.03, -0.10) is expected to make a major announcement today that some believe will relate to advanced wireless networks.

[BRIEFING.COM] One year ago the stock market started to make its way off of its bear market low. Since then, the S&P 500 rallied more than 70% to its January high. After a pullback from that high, stocks have started to recover so that they are just 1% off of their January peak.

However, the stock market has taken a bit of a breather in recent action. During the prior session stocks chopped sideways in listless trade, while this morning has started on a mildly weaker note amid a stronger dollar.

[BRIEFING.COM] Listless and lackluster action kept participants on the sidelines as stocks consolidated their recent gains. A lack of market-moving headlines and other trading catalysts also made for minimal participation.

Investors and traders showed little willingness to step back into the stock market after it advanced more than 3% last week. In turn, hardly 900 million shares exchanged hands on the NYSE in what was this year's second-smallest level of volume.

In addition to the light trade, action was also rather quiet and stocks spent most of the session stuck in a narrow range. There were neither economic data nor corporate news items to act as movers.

However, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 51.73, -0.30) did disappoint with its downward revision of first quarter earnings to $1.07 per share.

Despite the generally positive influence of merger and acquisition activity on the broader market, news that AIG (AIG 29.10, +1.02) offloaded its American Life Insurance Company to MetLife (MET 40.90, +1.98) in a $15.5 billion deal only seemed to help shares of insurers. Still, that kept the financial sector in positive territory for the entire session. Financials finished with a tepid 0.2% gain.

A bounce by the dollar also kept a cap on trade. The greenback had been down roughly 0.4% at its session low, but recovered to finish flat.

Despite the bland action in the broader market, the Nasdaq Composite was able to garner enough support to hit a fresh 52-week high. Research In Motion (RIMM 73.39, +3.89) was a primary leader after it was upgraded on Wall Street.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.1%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.4%), Tech (+0.3%), Financials (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Industrials (-0.5%), Health Care (-0.4%), Consumer Staples (-0.4%), Energy (-0.2%), Materials (-0.1%), Utilities (-0.1%)