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From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : The stock market maintained a narrow trading range on Thursday before ending the session essentially where it began. The S&P 500 added less than a point, while the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.2%) underperformed.

Equity indices displayed early strength thanks in part to an overnight boost from better than expected economic data in China and Europe. Specifically, China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI surged to an 18-month high (52.0 from 50.7), while Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (51.9; expected 51.7) and Services PMI (54.4; expected 52.7) also surpassed estimates.

In addition to upbeat data from overseas, participants received a batch of better than expected earnings, but the market had a difficult time building on its early gain. The S&P 500 surrendered its opening advance during the initial minutes, but was able to follow that with a rally to a fresh record high (1991.39). The index could not hold that level into the afternoon and slipped back to its flat line by the close.

None of the sectors were able to distinguish themselves with several groups spending time atop the leaderboard. When it was all said and done, consumer staples (+0.4%), utilities (+0.4%) and consumer discretionary (+0.3%) occupied the top three spots.

The staples sector drew strength from beverage stocks with Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS 60.98, +2.54) surging 4.4% in reaction to its bottom-line beat. Peer PepsiCo (PEP 91.91, +1.09) advanced 1.2% after being upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Hold' at Stifel Nicolaus.

For its part, the utilities sector erased its week-to-date loss, but could only narrow its July decline to 3.4%. Despite the recent weakness, the rate-sensitive group holds a year-to-date gain of 12.5% versus a 7.6% increase for the S&P 500.

Elsewhere, the discretionary space was supported by retailers. Under Armour (UA 69.55, +8.92) spiked 14.7% to a new record high after delivering an above-consensus quarterly report, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 85.33, +0.55) rallied 0.7%. The strength among retailers outweighed the broad losses among homebuilders.

The industry group was pressured by a disappointing report from a major builder-DR Horton (DHI 21.94, -2.86)-and the June New Home Sales report, which fell short of expectations (406K; Briefing.com consensus 475K). The iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 23.38, -0.83) lost 3.4%.

Other high-beta groups like biotechnology and chipmakers did not fare much better. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 255.45, -3.89) tumbled 1.5%, while the health care sector (-0.2%) lagged throughout the session.

For its part, the PHLX Semiconductor Index lost 0.8% with Qualcomm (QCOM 76.17, -5.43) registering the largest drop. The stock fell 6.7% after its below-consensus Q4 earnings guidance overshadowed better than expected results.

Meanwhile, another tech stock-Facebook (FB 74.98, +3.69)-soared 5.2% after beating earnings and revenue expectations.

Treasuries retreated, making the bulk of their move ahead of the New York open. The 10-yr note lost 11 ticks, sending its yield higher by four basis points to 2.51%.

Participation was below average with a bit over 615 million shares changing hands at the NYSE.

Economic data was limited to initial claims and the New Home Sales report for June:


The initial claims level fell to 284,000 from an upwardly revised 303,000 (from 302,000), while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 308,000
The drop in claims brought the overall level to its lowest point since February 2006 and pressured the four-week moving average to its lowest level since May 2006
The Department of Labor said there were no special factors associated with the report, but did note that claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year
New home sales fell 8.1% in June to 406,000 from a downwardly revised 442,000 (from 504,000) in May, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 475,000
Sales were also revised lower for April (408,000 from 425,000) and March (403,000 from 410,000)
Median new home prices increased 5.3% y/y in June to $273,500

Tomorrow, the Durable Orders report (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) will be released at 8:30 ET. On the earnings front, AbbVie (ABBV 54.08, -0.40), LyondellBasell (LYB 102.42, -0.08), and American Electric Power (AEP 54.01, +0.04) will report their results ahead of the opening bell.

S&P 500 +7.6% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +7.1% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +3.1% YTD
Russell 2000 -0.6% YTD

4:34 pm Altera beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs in-line; quarterly dividend 20% to $0.18/share (ALTR) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.41 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.37; revenues rose 16.5% year/year to $491.5 mln vs the $480.62 mln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs in the range of down 2% to up 2% sequentially, which calculates to ~$481.7-501.3 mln vs. $491.71 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.4:31 pm Mattson reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (MTSN) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.03 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.03; revenues rose 71.0% year/year to $42.0 mln vs the $40.8 mln consensus.

4:28 pm Microsemi reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line (MSCC) : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.58 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.58; revenues rose 20.5% year/year to $292.3 mln vs the $290.41 mln consensus.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2014, non-GAAP gross margin was 56.0 percent and non-GAAP operating margin was 22.6 percent.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.62-0.66, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.62 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $299-305 mln vs. $302.37 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:26 pm Ingram Micro beats by $0.02, beats on revs; co currently expects 2014 Q3 worldwide revenue to increase YoY in the high single digits (IM) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.54 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.52; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $10.91 bln vs the $10.59 bln consensus.

Outlook

The co currently expects 2014 third quarter worldwide revenue to increase year-over-year in the high single digits.Gross margin is expected to improve solidly over the 2014 second quarter, and be relatively flat with the prior year third quarter.2014 third quarter non-GAAP operating expense as a percentage of revenue is expected to continue to benefit sequentially over the 2014 second quarter from incremental cost savings related to implementation of the co's global organizational effectiveness program, and year-over-year from revenue leverage.

4:25 pm Riverbed Technology reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (RVBD) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.26 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.26; revenues rose 5.7% year/year to $264.03 mln vs the $265.43 mln consensus.

"We made important strides in the second quarter to extend beyond our core WAN optimization business as evidenced by the number of multi-product transactions which increased both sequentially and year over year, and we expect this to accelerate our growth in the second half of the year and lead to long term sustainable growth in revenue and EPS."Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.30-0.32, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.30 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $285-291 mln vs. $279.78 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:23 pm RF Micro Device beats by $0.07, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (RFMD) : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues rose 8.0% year/year to $316.32 mln vs the $304.83 mln consensus.

On a non-GAAP basis gross margin was 47.1%
Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ~$0.27, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.21 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of ~$345 mln vs. $328.93 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co also sees non-GAAP gross margin to be approximately flat to up 25 basis points sequentially.

4:21 pm Flextronics beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line (FLEX) : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.25 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.22; revenues rose 14.7% year/year to $6.64 bln vs the $6.28 bln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.22-0.26 vs. $0.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $6.2-6.6 bln vs. $6.55 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:20 pm KLA-Tencor misses by $0.06, reports revs in-line (KLAC) : Reports Q4 (Jun) non-GAAP earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.86; revenues rose 2.0% year/year to $734.3 mln vs the $734.6 mln consensus. Note: Co usually guides on the call, starts at 5pm ET.

4:15 pm Freescale Semi beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs in-line (FSL) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.38 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.35; revenues rose 14.7% year/year to $1.19 bln vs the $1.17 bln consensus.

Adjusted gross margin of 45.2%
Capital Expenditures for the quarter were $56 millionCo issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $1.19-1.23 bln vs. $1.2 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Gross margins to increase approximately 50 basis points on a sequential basis.

4:12 pm Mellanox Tech beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 revs in-line (MLNX) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.10; revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $102.57 mln vs the $102.83 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $114-118 mln vs. $114.4 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:08 pm Micrel misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (MCRL) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.09 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.10; revenues rose 5.2% year/year to $62.3 mln vs the $63.51 mln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.06-0.09, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.13 Capital IQ Consensus EstimatesCo sees Q3 revs of $62.9-66.0 mln vs. $67.34 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Guidance excludes the one-time $3 million to $5 million of revenue and related cost of goods sold impact

4:03 pm Maxim Integrated misses by $0.05, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (MXIM) : Reports Q4 (Jun) earnings of $0.43 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.48; revenues rose 6.0% year/year to $642 mln vs the $650.45 mln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.34-0.40 vs. $0.51 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $580-620 mln vs. $676.06 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "While we experienced softness in our mobility business, our revenue performance in the quarter reflected the overall strength of Maxim's balanced portfolio, with growth in every one of our other major businesses." Mr. Doluca continued, "Although our near-term outlook for mobility remains cautious, we are executing on our strategy to bring new integrated designs to the Industrial, Automotive, Communications and Data Center markets, and to diversify our customer base in mobility."

4:03 pm Lattice Semi beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 revs below consensus (LSCC) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.09; revenues rose 17.3% year/year to $99.3 mln vs the $98.6 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs down 8-12% sequentially which computes to $87.4-91.4 mln vs. $98.5 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:02 pm Monolithic Power beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs above consensus (MPWR) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.37 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.35; revenues rose 18.5% year/year to $68.4 mln vs the $67.14 mln consensus.

Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $76-80 mln vs. $73.73 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:01 pm Monolithic Power acquires Sensima Technology SA for an initial cash payment of $11.7 mln and a subsequent cash earn-out payment of up to $8.9 mln which will be based upon Sensima's achieving certain performance goals (MPWR) : Co announced that it has acquired Sensima Technology SA located in Switzerland. Sensima is a pre-revenue, developer of magnetic sensor technologies for angle measurements as well as three-dimensional magnetic field sensing.

MPS has acquired all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Sensima. The purchase price includes an initial cash payment of $11.7 million and a subsequent cash earn-out payment of up to $8.9 million which will be based upon Sensima's achieving certain performance goals. Key employees will also be eligible to receive time-based and performance-based restricted stock units in connection with this transaction. A portion of the initial cash consideration payable to the stockholders will be placed into escrow under the terms of the acquisition agreement.
The estimated financial impact of the acquisition on the future operating results of MPS is not expected to be significant.

11:59 am 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

UA (69.65 +14.88%): Beat on EPS by $0.01, beat on revs; raised FY14 guidance; reported Q2 gross margin of 49.2%, prior guidance flat, vs estimate of ~20 bps expansion to 48.5%.
RCL (60.97 +8.43%): Beat on EPS by $0.13, reported revs in-line; guided Q3 EPS above consensus; raised FY14 EPS guidance (midpoint above consensus).
NOK (8.26 +7.55%): Beat on EPS by $0.02, beat on revs.

Large Cap Losers

LMCA (49 -65.32%): Announced adjustment to the conversion rate of its 1.375% cash convertible senior notes due 2023 .
TRIP (97.19 -9.47%): Missed on EPS by $0.06, reported revs in-line; downgraded to Hold from Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald; target raised to $104 from $100 at RBC Capital Mkts; target raised to $98 from $87 at UBS.
QCOM (76.55 -6.19%): Beat on EPS by $0.10, beat on revs; guided Q4 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; co believes certain licensees in China are not fully complying with their contractual obligations to report their sales of licensed products; downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Evercore; downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna; tgt lowered to $85 from $86 at Cowen; tgt lowered to $90 from $95 at Canaccord Genuity.

Mid Cap Gainers

LOGI (15.44 +15.81%): Beat on EPS by $0.09, beat on revs; reaffirmed FY15 revs guidance; raised op income guidance; upgraded to Buy from Hold at European firm Vontobel.
CSGP (161.07 +12.17%): Beat on EPS by $0.10, beat on revs; guided Q3 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; guided FY14 EPS above consensus, revs in-line.
SKX (52.51 +8.47%): Beat on EPS by $0.28, beat on revs; target raised to $58 at B. Riley & Co.

Mid Cap Losers
UFS (37.72 -9.74%): Reported Q2 earnings of $0.61 per share, missed on revs.
DHI (22.47 -9.4%): Reported Q3 earnings of $0.32 per share, including items; missed on revs; raised quarterly dividend by 67% from the most recent dividend paid to $0.0625 per share.
CLB (153.87 -7.93%): Beat on EPS by $0.01, reported revs in-line; guided Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guided Q4 (Dec) EPS in-line, revs in-line

11:48 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (185) outpacing new lows (30) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ABC, ADM, AHGP, AHT, AIV, AKR, APD, ARE, ARES, ATHL, AVB, AVIV, BBL, BDN, BGCP, BHP, BIDU, BITA, BK, BKD, BPL, BRX, CAM, CBG, CCE, CHE, CHRW, CIB, CMRE, COBR, CONE, COO, COP, CORR, CSC, CUZ, CVTI, CVX, DAN, DDR, DDS, DFT, DPS, EDUC, EFX, EGAS, EMES, ENB, ENL, ENPH, EPD, EPR, EQR, ESC, ESS, ESTE, ETP, EXP, F, FB, FCH, FDS, FET, FFIV, FOLD, FRT, FTI, FTNT, GCI, GD, GIL, GILD, GLP, GMK, GPK, GPRE, GTIV, H, HAL, HBI, HES, HFBC, HLX, HME, HNT, HST, HT, IBA, ILMN, IMS, INGR, INVN, IPG, ITUB, JBLU, JKHY, JLL, KALU, KEX, KOG, KR, LEJU, LGCY, LHO, LLY, LRE, LUV, LYB, MAA, MAG, MAMS, MAR, MATW, MCK, MCO, MGA, MKSI, MMC, MMM, MPB, MS, MUR, NDAQ, NFX, NI, NOV, NSH, NSLP, OAS, OFC, OHI, PBA, PDM, PEB, PII, PJC, PKY, PNBK, PPC, PPS, PTEN, PTR, PTSI, PXD, QRE, RCL, REG, REX, REXI, RUK, SAVE, SE, SEIC, SEMG, SERV, SGK, SHI, SIAL, SKX, SLCA, SRC, STLD, SUSS, TEN, TEVA, TMH, TNC, TPL, TPX, TRP, UA, UAL, UDR, UHS, VAC, VDSI, VNR, VNTV, WAB, WFT, WLK, WLL, WYN, XEC, XOM

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ANGI, AQXP, AVP, BTN, CBLI, CGG, CLRX, CNHI, CREG, DNKN, EDMC, EDU, ESI, EVOK, GPRC, IDI, MCRI, MORN, NEWL, NKSH, NUTR, ROYT, SILC, SQI, SSH, SWAY, TBBK, TSC, VII, WMAR

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: BKF, DBB, EEM, EPP, EWC, EWH, GAF, ICF, IYR, IYT, NIB, OEF, QQQ, SLX, SPY, URE, VNQ, VWO, XLK, XLV

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: BAL

10:54 am SPDR Semiconductor sets new six week low, vacillating near its 50 sma at 72.81 (XSD) : INTC, SWKS, MU, SPWR, CRUS, FCS, RFMD, TQNT, AVGO, ONNN, TXN.

9:38 am Qualcomm extends aggressive post-earnings drop near its 200 ema at 75.84 and stabilizes -- session low 75.91 (QCOM) : Its 200 sma is slightly below at 75.68.

9:38 am Broadcom to offer senior notes due 2024 and 2044 (BRCM) : Co announced its intention to offer, subject to market and other conditions, two tranches of Senior Notes due 2024 and 2044 under an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3, on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Broadcom expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include the potential redemption, subject to market conditions, of Broadcom's 2.375% Senior Notes due 2015. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

8:04 am KEMET misses by $0.06, misses on revs (KEM) : Reports Q1 (Jun) loss of $0.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.02; revenues rose 5.3% year/year to $212.9 mln vs the $215.64 mln consensus.

7:18 am Integrated Silicon beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line; initiates dividend (ISSI) : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.24; revenues rose 9.0% year/year to $84.8 mln vs the $83.65 mln consensus. Gross margin was 34.5%, compared to 34.3% in the March 2014 quarter and 33.5% in the June 2013 quarter; DRAM revenue increased 14.9% and SRAM revenue increased 6.3% over the prior year period; Industrial, medical, and military (IMM.V) revenue increased 32.3% and automotive revenue grew 12.1% year-over-year;

Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.25-0.29 vs. $0.27 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $85.0-89.0 mln vs. $86.71 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Announced quarterly cash dividend program.

7:14 am Benchmark Elec beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (BHE) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.38; revenues rose 17.9% year/year to $717 mln vs the $681.62 mln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.38-0.42, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.39 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $670-700 mln vs. $678.96 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "We executed very well during the quarter. Our continued focus on operational excellence enabled results for the second quarter to exceed our expectations as we convert our robust pipeline of new programs...The solid quarter demonstrates the level of performance we can achieve at current demand levels and provides visibility into our future potential as we continue to accelerate our pace and efficiency in new program introductions."

SunEdison (SUNE) announced its acquisition of the 156 megawatt (MW) DC Comanche Solar project from renewable energy developer Community Energy.

6:49 am Integrated Silicon initiates new dividend of $0.06/share (ISSI) : Dividend will be payable on Aug. 15, 2014 to shareholders of date at the close on Aug. 4, 2014.

6:18 am Cabot Micro misses by $0.10, misses on revs; expects FY14 gross profit to be around lower end of its guidance range (CCMP) :

Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.53 per share, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.63; revenues fell 1.4% year/year to $108.4 mln vs the $111.43 mln consensus. Gross profit, expressed as a percentage of revenue, was 47.7 percent this quarter, compared to 49.7 percent of revenue reported in the same quarter a year ago. Compared to the year ago quarter, gross profit percentage decreased primarily due to higher variable manufacturing costs, including higher raw material costs and higher logistics costs. Year to date, gross profit represented 47.3 percent of revenue, which includes a 70 basis point adverse impact of an asset impairment charge related to certain manufacturing assets recorded during the second fiscal quarter. The company expects its gross profit for the full fiscal year to be around the lower end of its guidance range of 48 to 50 percent of revenue.