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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The major averages finished the session on a modestly higher note, but not before heavy selling pressure sent the Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%) for a test of its 200-day moving average. The S&P 500, meanwhile, added 0.7% with all ten sectors posting gains.

Equities climbed at the open with the advance built on the relative strength of biotechnology and other momentum names. Despite the solid early gains in those areas, the market began fading from its high as multiple reports pointed to an escalation of tensions in Ukraine. Specifically, a skirmish reportedly took place at the Kramatorsk airbase, but there were inconsistencies with regard to the number of injured. Some reports put the number of casualties between four and 11, while others said there were no casualties. After these reports made the rounds, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov was quoted by Interfax as saying the airfield has been retaken from pro-Russian militants.

With participants watching the news from Ukraine, stocks continued their retreat into the early afternoon, while bonds rallied. The defensive sentiment was also present in the foreign exchange market, where the yen strengthened to 101.50 against the dollar.

Strikingly, equity indices notched their lows just after 13:00 ET and spent the next three hours in a sharp rally back into the green in a move that was accompanied by the return of yen weakness that sent the dollar/yen pair to 101.85.

The rally in equities and the dollar/yen pair seemed to follow reports from Nikkei, suggesting sources think Japan will lower its economic outlook in its upcoming April 17 report. Such a headline presumably fueled some speculation that the downgrade will ultimately invite more policy stimulus from Japan, which was music to the ears of a market that has cheered accommodative monetary policy for quite some time.

As a result of the afternoon rally, the S&P 500 returned to its morning high, while the Nasdaq clawed its way back into the green. Like the Nasdaq, biotechnology climbed off its lows, but the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 217.61, +2.24) was unable to reclaim its 200-day moving average. The biotech ETF added 1.0%, while the broader health care sector advanced 1.1%. Contributing to the sector's strength were shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 99.20, +2.06), which added 2.1% after the company beat on earnings.

Elsewhere, energy (+1.3%) and financials (+0.9%) spent the entire day trading ahead of the broader market, which facilitated the afternoon rebound.

Also of note, the utilities sector (+1.3%) ended ahead of the remaining groups after climbing steadily throughout the session. The rate-sensitive sector extended its year-to-date gain to 11.8%, which speaks to the overall cautious posture that has been exhibited by the market so far in 2014.

Treasuries posted gains, but retreated from their midsession highs during the afternoon rally in equities. The benchmark 10-yr yield slipped three basis points to 2.62%.

Participation was a bit above average as 771 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Reviewing today's data:

Consumer prices increased 0.2% in March, up from a 0.1% gain in February. The Briefing.com consensus expected the CPI to increase 0.1%. Excluding food and energy, core prices increased 0.2% in March and ended a string of three consecutive months of 0.1% gains. The consensus expected these prices to increase 0.1%. The surprises in both the headline and core indices were mainly the result of stronger-than-expected housing costs. The shelter index increased 0.3% in March and accounted for two-thirds of the gain in the core consumer price index. Housing costs increased 2.7% over the last 12 months, which was the largest yearly increase since March 2008. As expected, drought conditions in the west contributed to stronger-than-normal growth in food prices. Food costs increased 0.4% for a second consecutive month. Year-over-year, food prices are up 1.2%, which is the largest yearly gain since August 2012.
The Empire Manufacturing Survey for April registered a reading of 1.3, which was down from the prior month's reading of 5.6. Economists polled by Briefing.com expected the survey to improve to 7.5.
The April NAHB Housing Market Index rose to 47 from 46 while the Briefing.com consensus expected the reading to increase to 50.

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET, while March Housing Starts will be announced at 8:30 ET. March Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization will both be reported at 9:15 ET, while the day's data will be topped off with the Federal Reserve's Beige Book for April. The report will be released at 14:00 ET.

S&P 500 -0.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.9% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -3.4% YTD
Russell 2000 -3.7% YTD

DJ30 +89.32 NASDAQ +11.47 SP500 +12.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1327/2.15 bln/1552 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1861/771.6 mln/1182

3:30 pm :

June gold slid to a session low of $1284.40 per ounce in early morning action on economic data showing the consumer price index rising 0.2% in March, up from a 0.1% gain in February. The Briefing.com consensus expected the CPI to increase to 0.1%. The yellow metal then inched slightly higher for the remainder of the session and settled at $1299.90 per ounce, or 2.1% lower.
May silver also traded in the red today. It slumped to a session low of $19.22 per ounce moments after pit trade opened and eventually settled with a 2.6% loss at $19.48 per ounce.
May crude traded in negative territory ahead of tomorrow's release of EIA inventory data. In addition, reports indicated that a tanker was due to load 1 mln barrels of oil at the recently reopened Hariga oil port in eastern Libya. The energy component brushed a session low of $103.02 per barrel as floor trade opened and touched a session high of $104.05 per barrel by mid-morning action. It eventually settled with a 0.4% loss at $103.68 per barrel.
May natural gas rose to a session high of $4.63 per MMBtu in morning action but slipped to $4.53 per MMBtu in early afternoon floor trade. It then consolidated near the unchanged line and settled at $4.57 per MMBtu, or 0.2% higher.

4:15PM Intel beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 revs in-line, gross margin above consensus; reaffirms FY14 revs guidance; raises FY14 gross margin guidance 100 bps (INTC) 26.77 +0.21 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 1.5% year/year to $12.76 bln vs the $12.81 bln consensus.

Q1 gross margin of 59.7% vs Street expectations of just above 59% (co guided for Q1 gross margin of 57-61%).
PC Client Group revenue of $7.9 billion, down 8% sequentially and down 1% year-over-year.
Data Center Group revenue of $3.1 billion, down 5% sequentially and up 11% year-over-year.
Internet of Things Group revenue of $482 million, down 10% sequentially and up 32% year-over-year.
Mobile and Communications Group revenue of $156 million, down 52% sequentially and down 61% year-over-year.
Software and services operating segments revenue of $553 million, down 6% sequentially and up 6% year-over-year.
"In the first quarter we saw solid growth in the data center, signs of improvement in the PC business, and we shipped 5 million tablet processors, making strong progress on our goal of 40 million tablets for 2014."

Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $12.5-13.5 bln vs. $12.96 bln Capital IQ Consensus; co sees Q2 gross margins of 61-65% vs Street expectations of ~60%.

Co reaffirms rev guidance and raises gross margin guidance for FY14, sees FY14 revs flat YoY at ~$52.7 bln vs. $53.15 bln Capital IQ Consensus; gross margin percentage: 61 percent, plus or minus a few percentage points, 1 percentage point higher than prior expectations; R&D plus MG&A spending: $18.9 billion, plus or minus $200 million, higher than prior expectations of $18.6 billion.

4:07PM Yahoo! beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (YHOO) 34.21 +0.76 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.37; revenues rose 1.2% year/year to $1.09 bln vs the $1.08 bln consensus.

Display:

GAAP display revenue was $453 million for the first quarter of 2014, flat compared to the first quarter of 2013. Display revenue ex-TAC was $409 million for the first quarter of 2014, a 2 percent increase compared to $402 million for the first quarter of 2013.
The Number of Ads Sold increased approximately 7 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013.
Price-per-Ad decreased approximately 5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Search:

GAAP search revenue was $445 million for the first quarter of 2014, a 5 percent increase compared to $425 million for the first quarter of 2013. Search revenue ex-TAC was $444 million for the first quarter of 2014, a 9 percent increase compared to $409 million for the first quarter of 2013.
Paid Clicks increased approximately 6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013. Price-per-Click increased approximately 8 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Cash Balance
Cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable securities were $4.6 billion as of March 31, 2014 compared to $5 billion as of December 31, 2013, a decrease of $0.4 billion.

12:20PM Notable movers of interest (SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).

Large Cap Gainers

KO (40.29 +4.03%): Reported EPS in-line, revs in-line.
TRIP (81.79 +2.54%): Tgt raised to $105 from $94 at Credit Suisse; Outperform.
SCHW (25.6 +1.21%): Beat on EPS by $0.02, reported revs in-line.

Large Cap Losers

VALE (13.53 -8.83%): Weakness in Brazil names (PBR, BRFS and TSU also lower).
INFY (51.6 -7.16%): Beat on EPS by INR3.03, reported revs in-line; raised dividend pay-out ratio to up to 40% of post-tax profits vs 30% prior.
NFLX (313.2 -5.54%): Trading lower following unfavorable mention on Mad Money.

Mid Cap Gainers

MDVN (56.07 +0.54%): Disclosed The Regents of the University of California filed a complaint against the company.
LPI (26.98 +1.58%): Co expects a Q1 loss on derivatives of ~ $31.1 mln.
AXLL (45.79 +0.95%): Provided update on repairs at Lake Charles, Louisiana, chemicals facility; sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $65-70 mln.

Mid Cap Losers

SWY (34.24 -9.92%): Co completed previously-announced spin-off of its Blackhawk Networks (HAWKB) unit to shareholders.
ZBRA (62.82 -8%): Guided Q1 above consensus; acquired MSI's Enterprise business from MSI for $3.45 bln.
AAN (28.43 -6.7%): Reduced 1Q2014 rev and earnings guidance; estimate severe winter weather will negatively impact EPS for the quarter $0.05-0.06; acquired Progressive Finance; transaction will be double-digit accretive to cash EPS in 2014 and significantly more accretive in 2015; issued open letter to shareholders to speak about acquisition of Progressive Finance; Board unanimously determined to reject Vintage Capital unsolicited proposal as inadequate and illusory.

11:30AM Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (130) outpacing new highs (51) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAV, AGRO, ANDE, ATHL, ATO, BAM, BAS, CQH, CRK, CWEI, CXO, DMLP, DTE, E, ECA, ECOL, EDGW, ERF, FFCO, GA, GAS, GLOG, HIL, HSKA, IM, KEG, KNX, LAKE, LNT, MCS, MPLX, NU, NWE, OFED, PEG, PES, PSXP, RDS.B, REI, RNR, RYAAY, SE, SLB, SLCA, SPCB, STO, TOT, TSM, UHAL, VOCS, WEC

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACFN, ACST, AGEN, AMBI, AMRC, ARO, ARQL, ARRY, ASTI, ATRS, AUY, AVNW, AXR, BTX, CARB, CCCL, CDE, CHGG, CLSN, CLTX, CNCE, COOL, COUP, CRCM, CRDC, CRIS, CRMB, CTHR, CWTR, DRNA, DSCI, EDMC, EGAN, EGLT, ELGX, ELNK, ETH, EV, EXEL, EXPR, FMD, FOLD, FSYS, FUEL, FWM, GEVO, GIMO, GMAN, GNE, GOOG, HOV, IGC, IIVI, IMGN, IMPV, INFI, JAXB, JIVE, KANG, KBIO, KBR, KING, LDR, LEI, LITB, LIWA, LUB, LXRX, MBII, MELI, MGNX, MSG, NAK, NCQ, NEWL, NMR, NSPH, NTLS, OIBR, OIBR.C, ONCY, ONTX, ORBT, OVAS, PBY, PGNX, PIP, PKT, PMFG, PRAN, QSII, QTWO, QURE, RALY, RAX, REPH, RJET, RKUS, RNG, RSH, SBY, SPEX, SPU, SSNI, STEM, STNR, STRL, SWAY, TAXI, TBNK, TCS, TEAR, TECUA, TEDU, TEU, THLD, TNDM, TROV, TRVN, TZOO, VHI, VIP, VTUS, WMC, WPCS, WPRT, XNPT, XONE, ZNH, ZTS

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: IXC, XLU, XOP

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: none

11:27AM Relative sector strength (TECHX) : New two month lows for the Nasdaq 100/Comp and Russell 2000 this morning while the S&P/Dow still remain solidly above their weekly lows. Sectors that have displayed relative strength during the pullback include: Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH, Utility XLU, Staples XLP, REITs IYR.

11:23AM ATMI shareholders approve merger with Entegris (ENTG) (ATMI) 33.95 0.00 :

9:03AM Riverbed Technology: Elliot reaffirms $21 bid for Riverbed (RVBD) 18.86 :

"Elliott remains extremely interested in acquiring Riverbed, and our $21 cash offer still stands."
"Riverbed's stock is trading meaningfully below our $21 offer, below our initial offer of $19 and vastly below the levels at which other potential buyers are interested. Nevertheless, even at these levels, the stock price remains above the unaffected price of $16-17 per share. Shareholders clearly still expect that the Board will eventually do the right thing by engaging with Elliott and other potential buyers, but unfortunately our repeated requests for access to diligence materials have been ignored. By continuing its policy of ignoring premium offers and refusing to engage, this Board is depriving shareholders of significant potential value and opening the door to significant value degradation. Elliott continues to believe that the best path forward for Riverbed is for the Board to start acting in the best interest of shareholders by providing all interested buyers with access to diligence with an eye toward achieving a value-maximizing outcome."

Mellanox Technologies (MLNX) announced that the National Computational Infrastructure, hosted at the Australia National University, selected Mellanox's interconnect to support Australia's national research computing service.

Broadcom (BRCM) introduced the industry's first six stream 802.11ac MIMO platform for home networks. Broadcom's 5G WiFi XStream is up to 50% faster than MU-MIMO routers and gateways.

Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) has received an order for the co's next generation Purion M medium current implanter from a second leading chipmaker in Asia.

In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: LEDS -9%

8:02AM BlackBerry announced an investment in healthcare IT leader NantHealth (BBRY) 7.14 : Co announced an investment in healthcare IT leader NantHealth.
The companies intend to collaborate on the development of HIPAA and other government privacy certified, integrated clinical systems that transform the delivery of medical care.

6:43AM Motorola Solutions guides Q1 EPS and rev below consensus (EPS in-line with guidance); sells enterpreise business to Zebra (ZBRA) for $3.45 bln (MSI) 63.78 : Co issues downside guidance for Q1 (Mar), sees EPS of $0.50 vs. $0.52 Capital IQ Consensus and $0.46-0.52 guidance; sees Q1 (Mar) revs of $1.8 bln vs. $1.88 bln Capital IQ Consensus.

Sales results were below the company's previous revenue outlook, primarily due to softer demand in the North America Government business along with lower than anticipated Enterprise sales.
"Revenues in the quarter did not meet our expectations due primarily to lower than expected volumes in our North America Government business in addition to a push out of certain Enterprise orders late in the quarter. While revenues were less than anticipated in the first quarter, we remain confident that we are well positioned for long-term profitable growth based on our strong pipeline position."
In a separate press release issued today (see 6:31 comment), Motorola Solutions announced the sale of its Enterprise business to Zebra Technologies for $3.45 billion.

Micron Technology (MU) and Wave Systems (WAVX) are expanding their relationship to develop solutions designed to strengthen user protection against current and emerging threats to compute and embedded platforms.