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From Briefing.com: With the ECB ending its meeting today without taking action, and important November employment numbers set for release tomorrow, it is little surprise that U.S equity markets ended the day relatively flat. The S&P 500 closed down 0.12% but the Technology sector was able to avoid a loss (XLK unchanged). Here are a few noteworthy movers in the sector that helped it outperform.

Avago Technologies (AVGO 103.07 +7.94) the semiconductor company and Apple (AAPL) supplier reported better than expected third quarter results. The company beat average analyst estimates of EPS by $0.30 a share. Additionally, the company guided revenues above estimates for the first quarter of next year.

Microsoft (MSFT 48.84 +0.76) entered into an agreement with Barnes & Nobles (BKS) to sell back its portion of the NOOK Media agreement for $300 million. In addition, MSFT received a reiterated Buy rating at Nomura, which included a raised price target to $56 from $50.

Synopsys Inc (SNPS 44.65 +1.65) had its price target raised from $45 to $47 by Needham, reiterating its Buy rating on the stock.

Walmart (WMT 84.76 -0.18) While not a tech company, it announced today that Sam's Club is releasing a retail travel app for on-the-go savings. Companies that may be affected by the new app that will increase supply in the travel field include Priceline (PCLN 1140.11 +9.94), and Expedia (EXPE 89.55 +0.96) among others.

Google (GOOG 537.31 +5.99) (GOOGL +5.61) - No news.

Sector performance by industry group:


Communication Equipment (-0.83%)Electronics Equipment Instruments & Components (-0.54%)Internet Software & Services (+0.72%)IT Services (-0.24%)Semiconductors (+0.30%)
Software (+0.78%)
Technology Hardware, Storage, and Peripherals (-0.31%)
Other movers worth noting: Facebook (FB 75.24 +0.36), Yahoo (YHOO 50.41 +0.13), Alibaba (BABA 109.17 -1.47), and Intel (INTC 37.46 +0.03)

5:06 pm TTM Tech and Viasystems Group receive Second Request from FTC (TTMI) : Co and Viasystems Group (VIAS) announced they have each received a second request from the United States Federal Trade Commission (the "FTC") for additional information associated with TTM's proposed acquisition of Viasystems. The effect of the second request is to extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act until 30 days after TTM and Viasystems have substantially complied with the FTC's second request, unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC. Both companies intend to cooperate fully with the FTC's review.

5:04 pm Silicon Image launches new subsidiary to focus on 'Internet of Everything' services; Qualcomm (QCOM) participates with strategic investment (SIMG) : Co announced that Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has made a $7 million strategic investment in Silicon Image's new subsidiary, Qterics, for a 7% ownership interest.

Qterics will be focused on enabling a wide variety of solutions and services for Internet-enabled consumer products including TVs, mobile handsets, tablets, routers, home automation devices, white goods and more. Qterics is comprised of the UpdateLogic services business combined with other related Silicon Image assets, including software and other intellectual property (IP). Current UpdateLogic General Manager, Kurt Thielen, will assume the role of President of Qterics.
In addition to the investment, Qualcomm and Silicon Image will explore opportunities to collaborate on promoting the AllJoyn open source software framework and developing new Internet of Everything (IoE) services.

4:11 pm Closing Market Summary: Stocks End Flat After ECB Stands Pat (:WRAPX) : The stock market ended the Thursday session on a modestly lower note ahead of Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls report for November. The S&P 500 shed 0.1% while the Russell 2000 (-0.5%) underperformed.

Thursday served as a perfect reminder for how dependent global equity markets have become on central bank stimulus. The first reminder occurred during the Asian session with China's Shanghai Composite soaring 4.3% amid expectations the People's Bank of China will introduce additional stimulus measures. While today's advance was impressive, it pales in comparison with an 18.3% surge in the index since November 20.

Meanwhile, the second reminder manifested itself through volatility in European and U.S. markets in reaction to the European Central Bank's latest policy statement and subsequent press reports.

As expected, the ECB made no changes to its interest rate corridor, but more notably, President Mario Draghi did not call for the start of a sovereign QE program, which had been expected by some. Instead, Mr. Draghi said the economic situation in the eurozone will be reassessed early next year. Furthermore, the ECB lowered its 2015 GDP projection to 1.0% from 1.6% and cut its harmonized inflation forecast for the region to 0.7% from 1.1%.

The absence of a QE announcement gave a boost to the euro while pressuring European and U.S. stocks. However, U.S. equities were able to string together a rebound after markets in Europe closed for the day. That recovery was capped with the S&P 500 spiking into the green just after 12:30 ET when Bloomberg reported the European Central Bank will prepare a broad-based QE package for the January meeting. In a way, preparations for such a program should be expected even if no announcement is made in January and it is worth pointing out that Mr. Draghi was pressed to define 'early' during his press conference, to which he responded, "Early, it means early, it doesn't mean the next meeting."

The vague report knocked the euro off its high to 1.2380 against the dollar after the single currency tested the 1.2455 level in the morning. Conversely, the Dollar Index (88.62, -0.33) halved its loss to 0.4%.

Although the early afternoon rebound sent the benchmark index back to its flat line, the S&P 500 was unable to extend that move. The index spent the next two hours within a point of unchanged before sliding away from its flat line into the close. Once again, an ECB-related report was cited for the afternoon weakness after Germany's Die Welt reported Mr. Draghi no longer enjoys majority support on the Executive Board.

Eight sectors finished in the red with energy (-0.9%) spending the day at the bottom of the leaderboard. The sector slumped as crude oil surrendered 0.8% to $66.75/bbl, but despite the decline, the energy sector will enter Friday with a week-to-date gain of 2.4% versus a slim 0.2% uptick for the S&P 500.

Outside of energy, telecom services (-0.2%) and industrials (-0.5%) were the only two groups unable to keep pace with the market. The industrial sector followed its top component-General Electric (GE 26.09, -0.29)-lower, while transport stocks held up relatively well with the Dow Jones Transportation Average ending in-line with the market.

Elsewhere, the consumer discretionary sector also finished in-line with the S&P 500, but retail stocks were pressured after Aeropostale (ARO 2.48, -0.71), Express (EXPR 13.19, -1.30), Guess? (GES 20.07, -2.10), and PVH (PVH 122.68, -1.72) disappointed with their earnings and/or guidance. The four names lost between 1.4% and 22.3% while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 92.73, -0.64) fell 0.7%.

On the upside, financials (+0.1%), materials (+0.3%), and technology (+0.1%) registered modest gains. Notably, the tech sector received a measure of support from the PHLX Semiconductor Index, which added 0.1%. Shares of Avago Technologies (AVGO 103.07, +7.94) spiked 8.4% and were responsible for the bulk of the uptick in reaction to strong quarterly results and guidance.

Treasuries ended on their highs with the 10-yr yield sliding four basis points to 2.24%.

Participation was a bit below average with just over 780 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to initial claims and the Challenger Job Cuts report:

Weekly initial claims fell to 297,000 from an upwardly revised rate of 314,000 (from 313,000) while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decline to 295,000
Continuing claims increased to 2.362 million from an upwardly revised 2.323 million (from 2.316 million)
The Challenger Job Cuts report showed a 21.0% year-over-year decline in planned layoffs to follow the prior increase of 11.9%

Tomorrow, the November Nonfarm Payrolls report (Briefing.com consensus 230K) will be released at 8:30 ET alongside the October Trade Balance (consensus -$42.00 billion). The Factory Orders report for October (consensus 0.2%) will cross at 10:00 ET and the day's data will be topped off with the 15:00 ET release of the Consumer Credit report for October (consensus $16.50 billion).
Nasdaq Composite +14.2% YTD S&P 500 +12.1% YTD Dow Jones Industrial Average +8.0% YTD Russell 2000 +0.8% YTD

4:02 pm Finisar misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (FNSR) : Reports Q2 (Oct) earnings of $0.23 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.25; revenues rose 2.2% year/year to $297 mln vs the $311.94 mln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of ~$0.23-0.27, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $297-312 mln vs. $323.86 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

12:26 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

ENB (53.31 +11.34%): The co provided in-line guidance for 2015 and raised its dividend by 33%.
RYAAY (67.95 +6.96%): Reported November traffic jumped 22% to 6.35 mln customers; raised profit guidance; Upgraded earlier to Overweigh at HSBC.
AVGO (102.53 +7.78%): Beat Q4 consensus estimates by $0.30, beat on revs; guided Q1 revs above consensus; Tgt raised at Brean Capital, Deutsche Bank, Canaccord Genuity, others.

Large Cap Losers

TD (48.31 -3.48%): Reported Q4 (Oct) earnings of C$0.98 per share, excluding non-recurring items, C$0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of C$1.06; revenues rose 6.5% year/year to C$7.45 bln vs the C$7.55 bln consensus.
RIO (45.86 -2.94%): Downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA/Merrill.
DISH (72.84 -2.12%): Downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

Mid Cap Gainers

HE (32.64 +15.79%): NextEra Energy (NEE) announced plans to Combine with HE in a $4.3 bln deal.
SNPS (44.8 +4.17%): Beat Q4 consensus estimates by $0.03, reported revs in-line; guided Q1 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guided FY15 EPS in-line, revs in-line; Tgt raised to $47 at Needham.
MBLY (43.39 +3.78%): Upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Mid Cap Losers

GIL (53.99 -7.35%): Missed Q4 consensus estimates by $0.07, missed on revs; guided Q1 & CY15 below consensus.
THO (55.25 -4.56%): Downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
STRZA (31.87 -3.95%): David Faber on CNBC says CBS (CBS) has confirmed with sources that they will not buy Starz.

11:55 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (211) outpacing new lows (192) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAL, AAP, ABAX, ABG, ACCO, ACE, ADM, AFG, AFSI, AIRT, ALKS, ALL, ALTR, AMAT, AMBA, AMOT, ANAC, AON, APH, ARDX, ASFI, ASH, AUO, AVGO, AXL, AXTA, BCV, BDX, BERY, BFK, BIB, BLE, BLL, BOOT, BPY, BRCM, BSD, CACI, CAF, CAKE, CAVM, CB, CCK, CEV, CFN, CFO, CMPR, CMRX, CMS, CORE, COST, COV, CSCD, CSCO, CSS, DFT, DG, DLTR, DPG, DPZ, EA, EAT, EDR, EEP, EEQ, EFX, EIX, ENB, EQY, ESPR, EVM, EXPE, FDP, FFG, FFIV, FII, FIS, FNF, GHC, GNTX, GTIM, GWB, HA, HDS, HE, HPY, IDTI, IFN, IIF, IIM, IMKTA, INGR, ISSI, JAZZ, JBLU, JBSS, KMX, KR, LB, LFC, LLY, LNDC, LNT, LPSB, LRCX, LWAY, MA, MAG, MCK, MCRL, MD, MDVN, MGPI, MHFI, MKTX, MMC, MMM, MMS, MMU, MOCO, MPA, MPWR, MQT, MQY, MSCC, MTSI, MU, MUS, MYD, NAD, NDAQ, NEV, NKX, NOAH, NPF, NPI, NPT, NQM, NU, NVDA, NVEE, NVRO, NXR, OGS, OPLK, OVAS, PCAR, PDCO, PKG, PLUS, PMCS, POR, PPC, PPG, PRE, PTCT, PZC, QTEC, QTM, QVCA, RAI, RCL, RDN, RDWR, REGN, RFMD, RIC, RIF, RKT, RMD, RPAI, RPM, RYAAY, SAGE, SBUX, SCG, SCMP, SEE, SEIC, SIGI, SLG, SLGN, SNPS, SPB, SRT, ST, SWIR, SWKS, TEG, TM, TQNT, TRV, TTPH, TXN, UAL, USAK, UVE, V, VCV, VGM, VR, VTR, WDC, WGL, WHR, WOOF, XEL, XL, XRAY, ZNH, ZSPH

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ABIO, ACY, ALSK, ALXA, AMDA, AMFW, AR, AREX, ARO, ARWR, ASPN, ASPS, ATAI, ATW, AVEO, AXAS, BANX, BAS, BBG, BCEI, BGH, BIND, BIS, BONT, BRN, BTE, BTU, BVSN, CBK, CFD, CH, CHKR, CLB, CLNE, CLR, CLSN, CLWT, CNSI, CPG, CRK, CYNI, CZZ, DAKP, DCTH, DHY, DSCO, DWCH, E, EAC, ECA, ECPG, ECR, EDI, EGY, EPAY, EPE, ERF, ESCR, ESV, FAM, FAX, FCO, FET, FPP, FXEN, GBSN, GER, GES, GGB, GHI, GLRI, GMAN, GMZ, GSI, HAL, HIIQ, HIX, HK, HNW, HYF, IKGH, INVN, JGW, KBAL, KIN, KOF, KOP, LAND, LEI, LPHI, LPI, LQDT, LRE, LXFR, MBT, MCC, MCEP, MDGN, MDR, MELA, MGCD, MIND, MM, MRC, MRD, MTDR, NCQ, NDRO, NE, NEFF, NEOT, NOG, NPD, NRT, NVFY, NWPX, NWY, OAS, ONP, ORIG, PBT, PDS, PED, PER, PERI, PGH, PHMD, PICO, PRKR, PTEN, PTSX, PWE, PWRD, PZN, QIWI, QRM, QTWW, REE, REMY, RENN, RGSE, RIG, RNO, ROIA, ROIAK, ROSE, ROYL, ROYT, RYAM, SDRL, SEAC, SEAS, SHOS, SID, SIM, SKIS, SLH, SM, SN, SRF, SRV, SSL, STO, STRN, SWN, SXC, TAOM, TAS, TAT, TBPH, TC, TITN, TLM, TNH, TPLM, TRF, TRVN, TS, TTI, UNT, USDP, VALE, VALE.P, VET, VJET, VNOM, W, WGA, WPCS, WPX, WRES, WSTL

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: IBB, IYH, SMH, SOXX

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: BNO, DBC, DJP, EWM, FXA, FXY, GSG, OIL, RSX, SGG, UGA, UHN, UNG, USO

8:23 am Silicom Limited announced that it has received the first Design Win for its Switched SETAC (SILC) : The client, an important provider of cloud-based cyber security and application delivery solutions, has placed an initial $250,000 purchase order, and Silicom estimates that future sales from this customer will ramp to approximately $2 million per year.

7:31 am SunEdison announced they have executed power purchase agreements with 16 separate public housing authorities across Massachusetts, totaling 39.5 megawatts in peak capacity (SUNE) : Net metering credits will be generated by more than 10 solar systems installed at various locations across Massachusetts, and will be sold via 20 year power purchase agreements to housing authorities