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From Briefing.com: Weekly Recap - Week ending 26-Sep-14Dow +167.35 at 17113.15, Nasdaq +45.45 at 4512.19, S&P +16.86 at 1982.85

Equity indices finished a cautious week on an upbeat note. The S&P 500 (+0.9%) and Nasdaq (+1.0%) reclaimed their 50-day moving averages, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.0%) was able to turn positive for the month (+0.1%). However, today's rally did not feature the same conviction as yesterday with just fewer than 620 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor versus Thursday's above-average total of 720 million.

The stock market received an early boost from heavily-weighted consumer discretionary (+1.1%) and technology (+1.2%) sectors. Both groups were underpinned by better than expected earnings with discretionary shares rallying behind Nike (NKE 89.50, +9.75), which surged 12.2%.

Elsewhere, the technology sector drew strength from chipmakers following an earnings beat from Micron (MU 33.84, +2.14). The stock jumped 6.8%, while the broader PHLX Semiconductor Index rose 1.3% to narrow its September loss to 0.3%. To be sure, large cap components also displayed strength with Apple (AAPL 100.75, +2.88) spiking nearly 3.0%.

Stocks were briefly pressured from their morning highs by the underperforming health care sector (+0.3%). The group could not catch up to the broader market amid weakness in hospital names like Tenet Healthcare (THC 60.75, -1.09), but biotechnology rallied with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 276.41, +2.44) advancing 0.9%.

The relative weakness in the health care space did not stand in the market's way during afternoon action as other influential groups like financials (+0.9%), industrials (+0.9%), and energy (+1.3%) picked up the slack. In the financial sector, Janus Capital (JNS 15.89, +4.78) soared 43.0% after it was announced Bill Gross will be joining the company following his departure from PIMCO.

For its part, the energy sector rebounded from its recent underperformance amid a 1.1% rise in crude oil. The energy component ended the pit session at $93.55/bbl to register a 2.2% gain for the week.

Treasuries slumped in the morning, but the rest of the session saw a divergence among different maturities. The 10-yr note settled near its low with its yield up three basis points at 2.53%, while the long bond returned to its flat line with its yield at 3.22%.

Also of note, the Dollar Index (85.63, +0.43) continued charging higher to extend this week's gain to 1.1%. The index will enter the final two sessions of the month after surging 3.6% so far in September.

On Monday, Personal Income (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) and Spending (consensus 0.4%) data for August will be reported at 8:30 ET alongside core PCE Prices (expected 0.0%). The day's data will be topped off with the Pending Home Sales report for August (consensus -0.2%).

Week in Review: Stocks Endure Broad Retreat

The stock market began the trading week on the defensive note with small-cap stocks pacing the retreat. The Russell 2000 (-1.4%) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.1%) displayed relative weakness, while the S&P 500 lost 0.8% with all ten sectors ending in the red. Global equities began showing some cracks overnight after China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei poured cold water on hopes for new stimulus measures. Specifically, Mr. Lou said the government has no plans to change policies despite the recent string of disappointing data. A somewhat similar hawkish tone was conveyed by comments from Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari, who said his country's government remains on track to implement another consumption tax hike.

Stocks finished the Tuesday session on the defensive after spending the entire day in a steady retreat. The S&P 500 (-0.6%) posted its third consecutive decline, while the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.9%) slipped behind the broader market during afternoon action. Equity indices were pressured from the start following some overnight developments that weighed on sentiment. The market tried to overcome the early weakness, but could not stage a sustained rebound, which resulted in follow-through selling in the afternoon. Mixed PMI data from the eurozone combined with an announcement from the U.S. Treasury concerning tax inversion deals factored into the cautious action. Fittingly, the news caused early weakness in the health care sector (-0.6%), which has been at the center of recent M&A deals. The sector was able to cut its early loss in half.

The stock market ended the midweek session on an upbeat note despite enduring a shaky start to the day. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% with nine sectors posting gains, while the Nasdaq Composite (+1.0%) outperformed. Equity indices spent the initial 90 minutes of action near their flat lines with the S&P 500 briefly pressured to its 50-day moving average (1976.58) by the early weakness in the energy sector (+0.04%). The growth-sensitive group was down in excess of 1.0% in the early going, but charged into positive territory during afternoon action. Crude oil went along for the afternoon ride, climbing 1.6% to $93.03/bbl. The test of the 50-day moving average invited dip buyers into the fold, while the relative strength of high-beta areas like biotechnology and chipmakers emboldened their efforts. Furthermore, a well-timed report from the Wall Street Journal indicating China may replace the People's Bank of China Governor Zhou with someone more dovish provided an added measure of support.

Equities endured a broad-based retreat on Thursday that pressured the Nasdaq (-1.9%) and the S&P 500 (-1.6%) below their 50-day moving averages, while the Dow (-1.5%) notched a session low just above that mark. All ten sectors were encompassed in the slide with eight groups posting losses of 1.0% or more. The indices began the day with modest losses and continued heading lower through the first 90 minutes of the session. Interestingly, dip-buyers showed very little interest in getting involved, which resulted in new session lows during the afternoon. The reluctance to step into the fold was driven in part by the lack of notable leadership. To that point, all six cyclical sectors ended in-line or behind the S&P 500 with high-beta areas like biotechnology and chipmakers finishing among the laggards. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF and the PHLX Semiconductor Index both lost 1.9%.

 
 Index	   Started Week	 Ended Week   Change  % Change	YTD % 
 DJIA	     17279.74	  17113.15   -166.59	-1.0	3.2 
 Nasdaq	      4579.79	   4512.19    -67.60	-1.5	8.0 
 S&P 500	2010.40	   1982.85    -27.55	-1.4	7.3 
 Russell 2000  1146.92	   1119.33    -27.59	-2.4   -3.8

4:49 pm This week's biggest % gainers/losers (:SCANX) : The following are this week's top 20 percentage gainers and top 20 percentage losers, categorized by sectors (over $300 mln market cap and 100K average daily volume).

This week's top 20 % gainers

Technology:CNQR (126.78 +17.46%)
Services:GPRO (82.1 +22.58%),RENT (60.87 +12.62%),WTW (27.64 +10.8%)
Industrial Goods:DRC (82.61 +12.73%),NES (15.9 +10.81%)
Healthcare:OTIC (26.58 +19.22%),ACOR (35.62 +16.83%),XLRN (28.74 +16.03%),IG (9.23 +14.43%),VRTX (113.6 +13.28%),TTOO (18 +11.41%),PTCT (46.34 +10.9%),TTPH (19.85 +10.3%),AGIO (63.76 +9.91%)
Financial:GDOT (22.27 +12.19%)
Consumer Goods:CXDC (5.88 +10.63%)Basic Materials:SIAL (136.77 +31.13%),CAK (0.56 +14.58%)

This week's top 20 % losers

Technology:ENPH (14.51 -19.42%),INVN (19.93 -17.22%),KN (27.33 -15.84%)
Services:NM (5.85 -23.07%),ASNA (13.61 -21.62%),SFXE (5 -19.41%),SALT (6.11 -18.87%),VLCCF (9.15 -17.77%),DRYS (2.54 -16.11%)
Industrial Goods:GTI (4.45 -34.3%),TRS (24.95 -16.94%),BGC (16.52 -16.82%)
Healthcare:RLYP (20.77 -15.75%)
Basic Materials:CRR (63.89 -30.39%),CLF (10.94 -23.07%),ANR (2.36 -22.61%),XCO (3.76 -19.28%),ACI (2.09 -18.49%),GDP (15.33 -15.67%),FUL (38.67 -15.46%)

3:32 pm Earnings Preview for the week of September 29 - October 3 (:SUMRX) : Of the companies reporting earnings for the week of September 29 - October 3 some of the bigger names include:

Monday: Pre Market - FGP, CALM, CMNAfter Hours - SNX, CTAS
Tuesday: Pre Market - WAG
Wednesday: Pre Market - AYI, AZZ
Thursday: Pre Market - STZ, MKC, GPN, ATUAfter Hours - RECN

12:22 pm 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

NKE (88.37 +10.81%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.21 ($1.09 vs $0.88 estimate), revs rose 14.5% yoy to $7.98 bln vs $7.78 bln estimate; sees Q2 and FY15 rev growth in low double digits; sees Q2 EPS growth in the high teens and FY15 EPS growth of ~20%; upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney
MU (33.53 +5.77%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.01 ($0.82 ex items vs $0.81 estimate), revs rose 48.7% yoy to $4.23 bln vs $4.15 bln estimate; gross margin 32.7% vs 34.3% in prior quarter; sees Q1 revs of $4.45-4.70 bln vs $4.34 bln estimate; target raised at Wells Fargo, Piper Jaffray, and Needham
TTM (44.38 +3.50%): Strengh in Indian companies folllowing S&P revision of India outlook to Stable from Negative, retings affirmed at BBB-/A-3

Large Cap Losers

MRK (58.6 -1.74%): Received approval for NOXAFIL (posaconazole) 300 mg Concetrate for Solution for Infusion from the European Medicines Agency
MAT (30.63 -1.84%): Estimates for 2016 lowered at Needham following loss of license to sell certain Disney Princess toys to rival Hasbro (HAS)
VALE (11.15 -1.46%): Downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, target lowered to $12.50 from $15

Mid Cap Gainers

JNS (14.82 +33.39%): Bill Gross to join the company to manage a recently launched Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund and related strategies
ATHM (42.24 +5.48%): Morgan Stanley disclosed a 5.3% passive stake in a 13G filing
BBRY (10.25 +4.59%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.14 (-$0.02 ex items vs -$0.16 estimate), revs fell 41.8% yoy to $916 mln vs $941.65 mln estimate; co continues to anticipate maintaining its strong cash position, while increasingly looking for opportunities to prudently invest in growth

Mid Cap Losers
SHLD (24.5 -4.52%): NYPost reporting that Sears Canada division is preparing for bankruptcy following the departure of CEO Douglas C. Campbell
STWD (21.98 -3.38%): Downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Compass Point
ATU (31.39 -2.76%): Downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at FBR Capital, target lowered to $35 from $40

11:56 am Stock indices slightly extend slip off first hour highs but continue lateral chop -- S&P +3.4, Nasdaq Comp +13, Dow +55 (:TECHX) :

11:50 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (196) outpacing new highs (35) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AGIO, CHDX, CHKE, CMSB, CNSL, CQB, CVGW, CVTI, FCAP, GPRO, GTIM, HAWK, HPJ, IG, JACK, JNS, LB, LM, LTS, MFSF, MO, NAII, NATH, NJ, NKE, NVTL, OVAS, PW, RLGT, SHPG, SPB, STRP, TTPH, VRTX, WNS

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACRE, ACRX, ACUR, ADNC, ADUS, ALCS, ALE, ALG, ALOG, ALTI, AMCO, AMDA, AMRN, APRI, ARCC, ARP, ATU, AUY, AVD, AVP, BCO, BCOV, BECN, BGC, BGI, BGS, BHP, BRC, BTU, BXE, CA, CBDE, CBNK, CCG, CCO, CCXI, CDNA, CEQP, CERE, CHEF, CHS, CIEN, CIK, CLD, CLF, CLRX, COOL, CPA, CPST, CRR, CRVL, CSG, CTCM, CTT, CVG, CVO, CYD, CYTK, CYTX, DARA, DCIX, DCOM, DGII, DWSN, EC, ECT, EGHT, ELSE, EOPN, ESBF, ESP, ESV, ETRM, EVV, EXEL, EXXI, FALC, FHCO, FLO, FMC, FMI, FNSR, FRO, FST, FTF, FWM, GEF, GFA, GGB, GIGM, GLDD, GLF, GOV, GTI, GTY, GVP, HEI, HELI, HMY, HOG, HOS, ICEL, IRC, IRET, ISSC, JE, JEC, KGC, KING, KIPS, KWK, LPI, LRN, LXP, MAN, MAT, MCF, MDU, MDWD, MOV, MTH, MTL, MVC, NAME, NCI, NCT, NDRO, NE, NMIH, NPK, NTLS, NVGN, OC, ODC, OI, OII, OMN, ONCY, ONE, ONP, OSK, OTTR, OZM, PCL, PDII, PERI, PGH, PLG, PLPM, POWL, PRGN, PRGX, PULS, PWE, RAVN, RBC, RBCN, RFIL, RLOC, RNF, RPXC, RRC, RSO, RVLT, RXII, SCHN, SD, SDRL, SIR, SKYW, SNOW, SOQ, SSD, STNG, SUTR, SYT, SZMK, TCK, TGH, TMHC, TWER, USAP, USU, VALE, VCYT, VIAB, VLTC, VNR, WAC, WIRE, WMK, WTI, XCO, XIN, XUE, ZA

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: UUP

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: EWO, FXE, FXF, FXY, HYG, JJG, KOL, PPLT, URA

JA Solar (JASO) achieved 20% solar energy conversion efficiency in its multi-crystalline silicon solar cell.

8:00 am 21Vianet and Microsoft (MSFT) announce WebDirect payment services for Windows Azure services in China (VNET) : Theo co and Microsoft (MSFT) announced that Windows Azure services' WebDirect payment services are now available to all customers in China. Customers can purchase public cloud services at international standards directly from the 21Vianet official website. In contrast to traditional offline purchase models, the self-serviced WebDirect model will greatly simplify the contract signing, purchasing, and payment processes.

7:09 am BlackBerry beats by $0.14, misses on revs; reports recognized hardware revenue on ~2.1 mln smartphones (BBRY) : Reports Q2 (Aug) loss of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.14 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.16); revenues fell 41.8% year/year to $916 mln vs the $941.65 mln consensus with Non-GAAP gross margin of 47.5%.

Co recognized hardware revenue on ~2.1 million BlackBerry smartphones versus ests of 1.6 mln ests and 3.7 mln last year. During the second quarter, ~2.4 million BlackBerry smartphones were sold through to end customers.

The EZ Pass Program has resulted in a total of 3.4 million licenses issued for BES10. Co reported 91 million monthly active BBM users, up from 85 million in the prior quarter.Co says workforce restructuring is now complete.

Outlook: The Company continues to anticipate maintaining its strong cash position, while increasingly looking for opportunities to prudently invest in growth. The Company continues to target break-even cash flow results by the end of fiscal 2015. .

7:04 am Trina Solar selected to supply 11.7 MW of modules to customers' ground-mounted solar PV plants in Turkey and Ecuador (TSL) : Co announced it was selected to supply 11.7 MW of modules to customers' ground-mounted solar PV plants in the emerging solar markets of Turkey and Ecuador.

The solar plant located in the Antalya region of Turkey is expected to have a total capacity of 5.8 MW and will utilize 23,650 Trina Solar TSM-PC14 300W 72 cell modules. The facilities in Ecuador are expected to have a total capacity of 5.9 MW and will utilize 9,193 of Trina Solar's premium TSM-PC05A 250W 60-cell Honey modules.

Micron (MU 31.70) target raised to $40 from $37 at ROTH Capital -- Color on Q likely to follow

3:18 am Intel and Tsinghua Unigroup collaborate to accelerate development and adoption of Intel-based mobile devices (INTC) : Intel Corporation and Tsinghua Unigroup, a solely state-owned limited liability corporation funded by Tsinghua University in China, jointly announce that both parties have signed a series of agreements.

The purpose of the agreements is to expand the product offerings and adoption for Intel-based mobile devices in China and worldwide by jointly developing Intel Architecture and communications-based solutions for mobile phones. Intel also has agreed to invest up to RMB 9 billion (about $1.5 billion) for a minority stake of ~20% of the holding company under Tsinghua Unigroup which will own Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics

All of the fear and loathing over Thursday's sell-off was seemingly put to rest on Friday as the major indices all bounced back with relative ease. Granted they didn't recoup all that was lost on Thursday, yet they never dealt with any serious selling pressure from the sound of the opening bell.

The basis for the broad-based rally, which saw the information technology sector (+1.2%), assume a leadership position, was as indeterminate as the reasons were for Thursday's drubbing.

Basically, what transpired was an almost equal and opposite reaction to the negative items that got floated on Thursday. To that end, some of the explanations provided for Friday's advance included:

The stabilizing influence of better than expected quarterly results and forecasts from Nike (NKE 89.50, +9.75) and Micron (MU 33.83, +2.13)The seeming ease with which Apple (AAPL 100.75, +2.88) and other leadership stocks have come back from yesterday's sellingThe ability of the S&P 500 to reclaim a posture back above its 50-day moving averageThe resilience of the buy-the-dip tradeThe Russell 2000 recovering from recent lossesUnderperforming fund managers chasing the opportunity to pick up stocks at lower prices after Thursday's selling; andStandard & Poor's restoring an investment grade credit rating for General Motors (GM 33.17, +0.30) Recall that only two stocks in the information technology sector gained ground on Thursday. On Friday, there were only six stocks that lost ground.

Similar to what transpired throughout the week, Apple and Yahoo (YHOO 40.66, +1.71) were focal points.

Apple didn't bounce on any real news of note, although it did garner some support from Stifel, which raised its FY15 EPS and revenue estimates based on higher iPhone and average selling price estimates.

Yahoo for its part caught a bid after Starboard announced it has acquired a significant stake in Yahoo and said it thinks a deal with AOL (AOL 44.58, +1.58) could result in up to $1 billion of synergies. There was chatter all week that Yahoo was going to start feeling the pressure from activist investors to bolster shareholder value.

Micron was a big mover following its better than expected fourth quarter results and reassuring guidance. Its gain helped drive a 1.3% jump in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index in what was a generally good day for most semiconductor stocks.

Outside the sector, Blackberry (BBRY 10.26, +0.46) was another big percentage mover. The company reported its second quarter results before the open. They left plenty to be desired considering Blackberry posted a loss of $0.02 per share on a 42% decline in revenue. Still, the results were better than feared and that most likely helped drive some short-covering activity that aided in its move.

The rest of the story, as radio legend Paul Harvey was fond of saying, was a good story for the technology sector as many stocks, like Facebook (FB 78.79, +1.57), Cisco (CSCO 25.00, +0.46), eBay (52.93, +0.78), and SanDisk (SNDK 99.21, +2.22), took a nice joyride to end the week.