Markets shakily trend upward, health care stocks lead sector gains

Yahoo Finance Live's Seana Smith checks out slight market gains ahead of the closing bell, also looking at crude oil prices, Nasdaq leaders, and sector gains.

Video transcript

SEANA SMITH: Let's get you up to speed on today's market action because a different picture than what we were looking at shortly after the open this morning. You can see the Dow on an intraday basis now looking at gains. We were lower shortly after the open. S&P also barely holding onto gains, up just about 1/10 of a percent. The NASDAQ 100 is now also in positive territory. Some comments from Fed vice chair Lael Brainard, that, at least, is being interpreted as more dovish by investors.

And we're seeing that reflected in the major averages this afternoon. I also want to pull up what's happening in the bond market. You have the 10-year yield once again pushing higher up another six basis points to 3.87 following the selloff that we saw last week. And then also the action that we're seeing in crude, crude once again falling just about 4%, right above $85 a barrel. Some demand concerns there weighing on the price of oil. Also the stronger dollar obviously serving as a headwind here for crude.

Taking a look at some of the broader action that we're seeing, inside the Dow today, you're seeing leadership from Johnson & Johnson, that stock up just about 2%, as well as Merck. So some of those healthcare names really setting the pace today. Inside the NASDAQ, a bit of a mixed picture as we look at some of the larger cap tech names under pressure. Google, though, and Nvidia, as well as Meta, able to hold on to some of those gains.

And then more broadly, the sector action that we are seeing, that is also a bit of a mixed picture. I mentioned the outperformance that we are seeing in healthcare, as well as energy. Bringing up the rear, though, the underperformer by far today is real estate, followed by financials as well as consumer discretionary, Rachelle.