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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The major averages finished the Wednesday session on a modestly higher note with the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) in the lead. Like the Nasdaq, the Russell 2000 (+0.4%) also outperformed the S&P 500 (+0.2%), while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) lagged throughout the session.

For the third day in a row, the stock market maintained a narrow range amid spotty sector leadership. Trading volume remained light with just 579 million shares changing hands at the NYSE versus a long-term average of 700 million.

In all likelihood, the quiet environment was a reflection of a wait-and-see approach that has been employed by investors ahead of tomorrow's policy decision from the European Central Bank and the U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls report, which will be released on Friday at 8:30 ET (Briefing.com consensus 220K).

Tomorrow's ECB announcement has the potential to stir things up a bit as investors are anticipating some sort of action from the central bank. While the general consensus is eyeing an easing announcement, it remains unclear what type of stimulus could be introduced by President Mario Draghi tomorrow. Expectations range from a deposit rate cut to an introduction of a QE-style purchasing program, but ECB watchers are well aware that Mr. Draghi's favorite policy tool has been the threat of easing, rather than actual easing for quite some time now. The ECB decision will cross the wires at 7:45 ET with the press conference set to follow at 8:30 ET.

However, before moving into tomorrow, we would like to take a quick look at today's session, which was anything but thrilling. Seven of ten sectors finished in the green with the three largest cyclical groups-consumer discretionary (+0.4%), financials (+0.3%), and technology (+0.3%)-in the lead.

The top performer of the bunch-consumer discretionary-rallied on the back of retailers with the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 84.44, +0.64) advancing 0.8%, which pulled it back into the green for the quarter. The retail ETF swung to a quarter-to-date gain of 0.2%, but remained lower by 4.2% year-to-date.

Elsewhere, the financial sector, which has been the top performer of the week, added 0.3% with M&A activity contributing to the relative strength. Specifically, Protective Life (PL 69.36, +10.64) surged 18.1% after agreeing to be acquired by Japan's Dai-ichi Life for $70/share, representing a 19.2% premium to yesterday's closing price.

Also of note, the tech space received significant support from its largest component. Shares of Apple (AAPL 644.82, +7.28) spiked 1.1% on the record date for the upcoming 7:1 stock split. Starting Monday, the largest tech company by market cap will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis.

In addition to boosting the tech sector, Apple contributed to the relative strength of the Nasdaq Composite. However, the Nasdaq also drew strength from biotechnology as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 243.47, +2.55) regained its 100-day moving average, climbing 1.0%. The health care sector, meanwhile, ended in line with the S&P 500.

On the downside, energy (-0.1%), industrials (-0.1%), and telecom services (-0.3%) posted slim losses.

Treasuries ended flat after erasing their overnight gains. The 10-yr yield settled at 2.60%.

Economic data was plentiful and mostly disappointing:

According to the ADP National Employment Report, employment in the nonfarm private business sector rose by 179K in May. That was below the increase of 200K expected by the Briefing.com consensus. Also of note, the April reading was revised down to 215,000 from 220,000.
The trade deficit in April widened appreciably to $47.20 billion from an upwardly revised $44.20 billion (from -$40.40 billion) in March. The April number was worse than the Briefing.com consensus estimate of -$41.30 billion and was the biggest deficit since March 2012. This will be a negative component for Q2 GDP as the real trade deficit in April was 9.2% greater than the first quarter average.
First quarter productivity was revised lower to -3.2% (Briefing.com consensus -2.5%) from -1.7%. That was the largest decrease in productivity since the first quarter of 2008. Hours worked increased 2.2% and output decreased 1.1%. Unit labor costs, in turn, were revised up to 5.7% (Briefing.com consensus 4.8%) from 4.2% due to the decline in productivity and the 2.3% increase in hourly compensation.
The ISM Services report for May checked in at 56.3, which was above the Briefing.com consensus estimate of 55.5 and marked the highest reading for the survey since August 2013. The main takeaway was that the non-manufacturing sector continues to operate comfortably in a state of expansion as May 2014 marked the 52nd consecutive month with a reading above 50.0.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 3.1% to follow last week's downtick of 1.2%.

Tomorrow, Challenger Job Cuts for May will be reported at 7:30 ET, while weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 310,000) will be released at 8:30 ET.

S&P 500 +4.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.0% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +1.8% YTD
Russell 2000 -2.8% YTD

4:38 pm Trina Solar announces the offering of $150 mln convertible senior notes; commences concurrent offering of 8.8 mln ADSs (TSL) : Co announced the commencement of the offering of $150 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2019. The Company also commenced a concurrent offering of 8,800,000 American Depositary Shares each representing 50 ordinary shares of the Company, par value of US$0.00001 per share. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. will act as joint book-running managers for the ADS Offering.

4:06 pm Universal Display announces its board of directors has approved a program to repurchase up to $50 mln of the co's outstanding shares of common stock from time to time over the next twelve months (OLED) : Co announced that its board of directors has approved a program to repurchase up to $50 mln of the company's outstanding shares of common stock from time to time over the next twelve months. Universal Display expects to enter into a trading plan established under Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to facilitate repurchases under the program. The amount and timing of repurchases will depend on a number of factors, including the price, availability of shares of the company's common stock, trading volume and general market conditions.

The repurchases may be made over the next twelve months on the open market, in block trades or otherwise. The program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.
The stock repurchase program will be funded using the company's working capital. As of March 31, 2014, the company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of ~$267 mln.
As of May 5, 2014, the company had 46,493,987 shares of common stock outstanding.

4:01 pm SunPower announces intention to offer $400 mln aggregate principal amount of senior convertible debentures due 2021 (SPWR) :

Total Energies Nouvelles Activites USA, a subsidiary of Total S.A. (TOT) that owns approximately 60 percent of co's common stock, has agreed to purchase, and the initial purchasers have agreed to sell to Total Energies Nouvelles Activites USA, $250 mln aggregate principal amount of the $400 mln aggregate principal amount of debentures to be offered.
Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, retirement of existing indebtedness, pursuing its HoldCo strategy, capital expenditures, and working capital.

Large Cap Gainers

WAG (74.61 +4.26%): Reported May same store sales rose 4.4% from prior year; reported Q3 revs rose 6.5% yoy to $19.49 bln vs $19.22 bln estimate; mentioned positively at FBR Capital
UA (53.2 +4.11%): Upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, target raised to $65 from $50
VIP (8.73 +4.05%): Reuters reporting that co has resumed merger discussions with Hutchison Whampoa (HUWHY)

Large Cap Losers

COH (39.17 -2.96%): Downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee, target lowered to $41 from $51
VRX (128.44 -2.89%): Weakness in select large cap biotech/pharma names: BMY, AGN, TEVA also lower
PBR (13.79 -1.43%): Hearing rumors that Brazilian government has rejected the company's price request from April/May

Mid Cap Gainers

PL (69.3 +18.02%): To be acquired by Dai-ichi Life for $70 per share in a transaction valued at ~$5.7 bln
SPWR (34.68 +8.34%): Strength in select solar companies following Department of Commerce announcement of duties on solar products; FSLR also higher
MBI (12.42 +6.34%): CEO disclosed acquisiton of ~62.17k shaers at $11.70 per share worth ~$700k

Mid Cap Losers

TIBX (19.64 -5.53%): Sees Q2 EPS of $0.12-0.13 ex items vs $0.21 estimate, revs of $250-252 mln vs $267.5 mln estimate; downgraded at JMP Securities and Stifel
P (23.97 -2.60%): Announced listener hours during the month of May 2014 were 1.73 bln, an increase of 28% from 1.35 bln during the same period last year; defended at Susquehanna
DO (48.35 -2.44%): Announced that a subsidiary has received notice of termination of its drilling contract for the mid-water semisubmersible Ocean Vanguard from Statoil ASA (STO), its customer for the rig

11:56 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (149) outpacing new lows (65) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAL, AAPL, AET, AGRX, AGX, AIG, AIZ, ALB, ALDR, AMAT, AMH, AMKR, AMOT, ASH, AVB, AVIV, BEE, BIG, BMA, BR, BRCM, CALM, CBG, CFN, CHC, CHSP, CI, CKEC, CLR, CORE, CP, CPN, CRZO, CSCD, CUR, CXDC, DAL, DCM, DDS, DFZ, DOC, DOM, DOX, DVA, DYN, EMES, EMN, ENSG, EOG, EQM, ERF, ESCA, ETE, ETR, FANG, FET, FLEX, GIS, GLOP, GMK, GTIM, H, HBI, HCC, HES, HRL, HSH, HST, HTZ, INTC, IRS, JBLU, JNJ, KEX, KR, LEG, LLL, LM, LRCX, LSBI, LUV, MEAS, MET, MGA, MGPI, MMP, MNKD, MWV, MXIM, NEN, NGL, NRG, NTT, NYLD, NYRT, OCIR, OCR, OHI, OPHT, PAHC, PES, PKY, PL, POL, PPG, PRE, RGEN, RNR, RSG, SAH, SBR, SCI, SGBK, SHO, SKX, SLCA, SNN, SOHO, SPIL, SRC, SRLP, SWHC, SWKS, SYA, SYPR, TDG, TEO, THRD, TLLP, TMH, TMK, TNET, TPX, TRGP, TRUE, TRV, TU, TUES, VET, VLCCF, VLP, VYFC, WAG, WAVX, WES, WFT, WLK, XL, ZBRA

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACI, AEPI, AMDA, ANV, ASCMA, ASNA, AVD, BAXS, BOTA, CAS, CLF, CLVS, COH, COOL, CPWR, CRCM, CRIS, CRMB, DLIA, DRIV, EDMC, EGHT, END, ETH, FHCO, FSYS, FWM, GRVY, HHS, HMG, HTCH, ISNS, KEYW, KIPS, LCNB, MEIP, MELA, MFLX, MOSY, NCQ, NIHD, NILE, NSPH, NTWK, OGXI, OMEX, ONTX, ONVI, OXF, PENX, PERI, PIR, RFIL, RNF, RST, SCL, SPLS, STRM, SVM, TIBX, TSPT, UNTK, WTSL, YUME, ZNH

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: IGE, IHF, IWF, IYM, KIE, NIB, OIH, QQQ, SEA, SMH, SOXX, SPY, UYM, VTI

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: VXX

9:36 am Trina Solar 'disappointed' in U.S. Department of Commerce's announcement of preliminary findings in countervailing investigations on certain solar energy products originating in China (TSL) : Co notes the preliminary findings on June 3, 2014 by the U.S. Department of Commerce relating to the countervailing duty investigation concerning imports into the U.S. of certain crystalline silicon solar finished products and components from China. Trina Solar is one of the China-based suppliers of these products to the U.S.

"According to the Commerce Preliminary Subsidy Rate scheme, preliminary subsidy rates ranging from 18.56% to 35.21% were assigned to the exporters in China. Trina Solar as a compulsory respondent is found to be subject to a preliminary rate of 18.56%, the lowest among the Chinese exporters."
"Trina Solar is disappointed by the preliminary findings and believes the allegations made by SolarWorld are contrary to the principles of free and fair trade, and are unfounded. Trina Solar's transactions with all its customers in the United States are in accordance with international trade practices."
"We believe we will continue to grow our business in US profitably, and we will continue to play an important role in the U.S. market and serve our customers in the region."
"In addition to the U.S., Trina Solar continues to see robust demand for its products, driven largely by growth from key geographical regions, particularly China and Japan. At the same time, Trina Solar is able to achieve geographical diversification of its business , as previously noted, its sales from new and emerging markets also continue to accelerate."

9:04 am Synopsys, STMicroelectronics (STM) and Samsung (SSNLF) collaborate to accelerate adoption of 28-nm FD-SOI technology for SoC design (SNPS) : Co announced it has extended its collaboration with STMicroelectronics to include Samsung Electronics, enabling broader market adoption of ST's 28-nm FD-SOI technology for SoC design. Synopsys' Galaxy Design Platform is production-proven on multiple designs based on ST's 28-nm FD-SOI technology. This collaboration extends the Galaxy design flow to Samsung in support of their strategic agreement to offer dual sourcing of ST's 28-nm FD-SOI technology.

9:02 am Cohu: Costar (CSTI) will purchase substantially all the assets of Cohu's Electronics Division. The purchase price is $9.5 mln in cash plus up to $0.5 mln in contingent consideration. (COHU) : Co announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Costar Technologies, under which Costar, based near Dallas, Texas, will purchase substantially all the assets of Cohu's Electronics Division.

8:37 am Sanmina announces early settlement for its previously announced tender offer and consent solicitation (SANM) :

CO announced that on June 3, 2014 it had received tenders and consents from holders of ~$264.415 mln in aggregate principal amount of its 7% Senior Notes due 2019 representing approximately 52.88% of the outstanding Notes, in connection with the Company's previously announced cash tender offer and consent solicitation for any and all of the Notes.
The Company will make payment to the Depository Trust Company on June 4, 2014 for all Notes validly tendered as of the Early Tender and Consent Deadline.

8:21 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: TIBX -13.4%, FCEL -12.7%, ASNA -4.6%, AEGN -2.7%, ABM -1.5%, LDOS -1.3%, MFRM -1.1%.

Select solar stocks trading lower after Commerce Dept declared new duties on solar product imports: JKS -6.6%, YGE -6.4%, TSL -6.3%, CSIQ -5.5%, JASO -3.9%, SOL -2.2%.