S&P 500 Ticks Up Amid Energy Gains, Tech Weakness

The S&P 500 index is trading near 7,764.51, up 0.09% or 7.12 points, due to gains in energy and healthcare stocks.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals led the top gainers with a 6% increase to $525.84, followed by EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron, all gaining more than 3%.

However, Intel fell 3.51% to $98.08, while Lowe's Companies, Duke Energy, Altria, and Estée Lauder declined as well.

Investors are watching several factors for the next market move, including energy stock performance, technology stocks, Federal Reserve interest-rate policy, Treasury yields, economic data, and corporate earnings.