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From Briefing.com: Weekly Recap - Week ending 12-Dec-14Dow -315.51 at 17280.83, Nasdaq -54.57 at 4653.60, S&P -33.00 at 2002.33

The major averages ended the week on a broadly lower note with the S&P 500 registering its first weekly decline in more than two months. The benchmark index fell 1.6% to widen its weekly loss to 3.5% while the Nasdaq Composite (-1.2%) displayed relative strength, but still lost 2.7% for the week.

Last evening, the House of Representatives passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September, but that news took the back seat to today's main event, which took place in the oil trading pits with other markets responding to the happenings there.

Overnight, the International Energy Agency issued its fourth global demand forecast cut in five months, which kept the pressure on crude oil ($57.80/bbl). The energy component ended the pit session lower by 3.7% for the day and lost nearly 11.0% for the week.

Furthermore, the decline widened oil's slide from the mid-year high of $107.73/bbl to 46.3%, thus rekindling concerns about how this drop will be handled by energy companies and other entities that rely on a higher price of the commodity. This was most notable in the energy sector (-1.9%), which ended the week lower by 7.8%.

Of course there is another side to lower oil prices, and the benefit that consumers are expected to receive from cheaper gasoline did not go unnoticed. However, the broader implications of the big plunge in crude price caused a reduction in overall risk exposure. Understandably, the consumer discretionary sector (-0.6%) was a spot of relative strength with retailers and restaurant names showing strength. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 92.28, +0.57) gained 0.6%.

However, the remaining cyclical sectors ended in-line with or behind the broader market. Equities tried to stage a comeback from their opening lows with a near-record high reading of the Michigan Sentiment Index providing a short-lived confidence boost that evaporated over the next hour. A fresh round of selling in the afternoon sent the major averages to new lows into the close.

Outside of energy, commodity-linked sectors like industrials (-1.8%) and materials (-2.8%) bore the brunt of the pressure while influential groups like financials (-2.0%) and technology (-1.5%) did little to stem the bleeding.

Among industrials, transport stocks held up relatively well with the Dow Jones Transportation Average losing 'only' 0.9%, but defense contractors kept the sector behind the broader market. The PHLX Defense Index lost 2.9% with Dow components Boeing (BA 120.77, -2.60) and General Electric (GE 24.89, -0.52) each tumbling 2.1%.

Elsewhere, the technology sector ended in-line with the market. Apple (AAPL 109.85, -1.77) and IBM (IBM 155.38, -5.69) lost 1.6% and 3.5%, respectively, with the latter weighing on the Dow. On the upside, Adobe Systems (ADBE 76.06, +6.32) surged 9.1% after reporting better than expected results.

Shares of Adobe helped the Nasdaq Composite end a bit ahead of the broader market, but the index was also kept from sliding deeper into the red by the outperformance of biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 306.10, -3.95) lost 1.3% after making a brief intraday appearance in the green. As for health care, the sector ended just a step ahead of the market.

Safe haven demand gave a boost to Treasuries with the 10-yr yield ending lower by eight basis points at 2.10%, which represented a 21-basis point decline for the week.

Also of note, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 21.82, +1.74) spiked almost 9.0% to its highest level since late October as participants showed demand for downside protection.

The sell-off invited above average participation with more than 940 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included PPI and Michigan Sentiment:

Producer prices declined 0.2% in November after increasing by 0.2% while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decline of 0.1%
As expected, energy prices fell for the fifth consecutive month with total costs declining 3.1% in November, which followed a 3.0% decline in October
Gasoline prices dropped 6.3%
After increasing 1.0% in October, food prices declined 0.2%
Excluding food and energy, core PPI was unchanged in November after increasing 0.4% while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1%
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index increased to 93.8 in the preliminary December reading from 88.8 while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 89.5
The December reading marked the highest point in consumer sentiment since the index reached 96.9 in January 2007
Strong improvements in the labor market and lower gasoline prices offset a slightly downward trending stock market, which helped boost sentiment

On Monday, the Empire Manufacturing Index for December (Briefing.com consensus 14.0) will be released at 8:30 ET while November Industrial Production (consensus 0.7%) and Capacity Utilization (consensus 79.3%) will cross the wires at 9:15 ET. The NAHB Housing Market Index for December (expected 58) will be reported at 10:00 ET and the Net Long-Term TIC Flows for October will cross at 16:00 ET.

Week in Review: All Eyes on Crude

The stock market slumped on Monday as the S&P 500 ended lower by 0.7% with seven sectors in the red. The price-weighted Dow (-0.6%) finished a little ahead of the benchmark index while the Nasdaq (-0.8%) and Russell 2000 (-1.3%) lagged. Equity markets around the world started the new week on a mostly lower note. However, continued hopes for stimulus from the PBoC sent China's Shanghai Composite higher by 2.8% to extend its gain over the past month to 25.0%. The advance took place after the latest trade data showed a better than expected surplus of $54.47 billion, which resulted from a 6.7% drop in imports (expected +3.5%). Hopes for additional stimulus were also present in Europe, but the key indices there could not stay out of the red amid weakness in growth-sensitive listings. Fittingly, cyclical sectors were responsible for the weakness in the U.S. with energy (-3.9%) taking it on the chin amid another decline in crude oil.

The major averages ended the Tuesday session on a mixed note after starting the day with sharp losses. The Russell 2000 and Nasdaq Composite paced the rebound, climbing 1.7% and 0.5%, respectively, while the S&P 500 settled just below its flat line. Equity futures were pressured in the morning after the overnight session featured a 5.4% plunge in China's Shanghai Composite, which endured its biggest one-day decline since 2009. The dive occurred after the index soared 25.0% in a month and was catalyzed by the People's Bank of China taking measures to tighten liquidity conditions. The central bank fixed the USDCNY exchange rate at its highest level since July and imposed stricter collateral rules on short-term loans. The cautious sentiment carried over to the European session with Greece's ASE Index sinking 12.8% while the country's 10-yr yield surged 91 basis points to 7.95% after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras called for a presidential election. This took place right after the country was granted a two-month extension to meet its bailout requirements and the early indications suggest the election could put the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) in power, which rattled markets. Adding insult to injury, Germany reported a 3.1% decline in November imports, which was the biggest drop in almost two years. Despite the global weakness, U.S. equities did not spend much time near their early lows. In fact, the Russell 2000, which led the rebound, marked its low five minutes into the session and never looked back.

Equities ended the Wednesday session on a broadly lower note. The S&P 500 lost 1.6% with all ten sectors ending in the red while the Russell 2000 (-2.1%) underperformed. For the second day in a row, the major averages slumped at the start, but unlike Tuesday, the key indices could not stage a comeback on Wednesday with a big drop in the energy sector (-3.1%) keeping the market under pressure throughout the session. The energy sector widened its fourth-quarter loss to 15.9% with crude oil settling lower by 4.5% at $60.92/bbl. The slide took place after China reported its lowest year-over-year growth in CPI (1.4%) and OPEC cut its demand forecast. In addition, crude stockpiles showed an unexpected build.

Stocks rebounded from Wednesday's broad-based weakness on Thursday, but the key indices slipped on an oil patch ahead of the close as WTI crude fell to $60/bbl. The S&P 500 added 0.5% after being up as much as 1.5% intraday. The Thursday rebound likely included a short covering element as the key indices rallied through the first hour and respected narrow ranges into the afternoon. However, selling into the close pressured the indices from their highs. Investors received a pre-market confidence boost from a better than expected Retail Sales report and a larger than expected decline in weekly initial claims. In turn, the data helped the Dollar Index (88.59, +0.33) rebound from three consecutive declines. However, the dollar strength wasn't entirely due to economic data as the greenback entered the morning with a solid overnight gain against the yen. The dollar/yen pair climbed to 119.00 (+1.1%), and retraced most of its decline from Wednesday.

Index Started Week Ended Week Change % Change YTD %
DJIA 17958.79 17280.83 -677.96 -3.8 4.2
Nasdaq 4780.75 4653.60 -127.15 -2.7 11.4
S&P 500 2075.37 2002.33 -73.04 -3.5 8.3
Russell 2000 1182.43 1152.45 -29.98 -2.5 -1.0

The Technology sector performed in-line with the broader market today. The S&P 500 Information Technology Index closed down -1.6% while the S&P closed down 1.6%. In a broader Tech Sector view, the top performing industry group was the Software Industry (-0.4%), while IT Services (-2.8%) led all decliners in the sector.

The Software Industry's performance was led primarily by Adobe (ADBE 76.06 +6.32). The stock rose 9% following its report of strong Q4 financial results after the close yesterday, beating average analyst estimates on EPS and reporting revenues in-line with consensus. One of ADBE's most important metrics, cloud subscription additions, reached 644k, also above expectations, which were approximately 530k.

In addition to the afore mentioned bullish earnings results, the ADBE announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fotolia, a marketplace for royalty free photos, images, graphics and HD video. The company plans to integrate Fotolia into its Creative Cloud, providing members with access to purchase over 34 million images and videos.

The combination of positive news stories led to ADBE receiving some positive analyst notes. Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating for ADBE, raising its price target to $90 from $83. UBS also maintained its Buy rating on the stock, raising its price target to $87 from $85.

Here are some other top performing large caps in the tech sector:

LinkedIn (LNKD 219.90 +2.54) - No news to support the move, but the stock rose 1.2% while the broad market tumbled.

Twitter (TWTR 37.10 +0.40) - Up 1.1% on no company specific news today, yesterday though, Topeka noted that several major events may potentially be driving up material engagement on the site. These events include the Ebola crisis, Midterm elections in the US, Cyber shopping, and the Ferguson, MO trial, among others. They also noted that given
TWTR's size, it is unlikely that these five events collectively will drive up MAUs enough to overshoot 4Q average analyst estimates.

Top decliners in the sector:

Mastercard (MA 84.13 -3.56) - No news to support 4% fall today.

Citrix Systems (CTXS 60.00 -2.31) - The stock fell 3.7% on no company specific news.

Intl Business Systems (INTC 155.38 -5.69) - No news behind 3.5% drop.

There were also a few interesting IPOs today worth noting.

Hortonworks (HDP 26.38) is the developer of Hadoop, a data management tool for enterprises. Hortonworks is seeking to advance the market adoption of Hadoop and provide enterprises with a new data management platform that enables them to harness the power of big data. The company's stock priced at $16 per share this morning, leading to a 64% rally on its opening trading day.

New Relic (NEWR 33.99) has developed a proprietary Software Analytics suite of products. The line of products, which are cloud-based, enable organizations to collect, store, and analyze enormous amounts of software data in real-time. This allows for optimal performance analysis helpful in making data-driven decisions. The company's stock had a stellar opening day rising 47% from its original pricing at $23.
5:34 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

Healthcare:CALA (29.85 +182.4%),BLUE (91.28 +104.16%),SGMO (16.53 +45.77%),ABIO (1.02 +41.55%),MDGN (5.12 +38.38%),TGTX (18.25 +32.25%),CLDN (17.25 +32.18%),CEMP (19 +31.76%),SRNE (5.8 +30.34%),CBST (96.31 +29.52%),OTIC (36.72 +28.93%),CCXI (5.6 +28.15%),ALDR (25.27 +25.78%),KITE (54.79 +25.55%),NVDQ (17.58 +25.21%)
Industrials:RVLT (1.26 +28.57%)
Consumer Discretionary:ODP (7.79 +23.26%)
Information Technology:LEDS (0.68 +26.13%)
Energy:FRO (2.25 +66.67%),LEI (0.19 +45.77%)

This week's top 20 % losers

Healthcare:MEIP (4.2 -32.8%),NYMX (0.33 -32.41%)
Materials:ANV (0.74 -46.57%)
Industrials:OPTT (0.65 -34.3%)
Consumer Discretionary:WTSL (0.07 -75.05%),CONN (17.44 -50.52%),DLIA (0.01 -38.62%)
Information Technology:DRIV (16.89 -33.79%),ISNS (2.73 -31.75%)
Financials:CTRE (12.26 -32.53%)
Energy:IVAN (0.51 -46.88%),MPO (1.07 -42.16%),GRH (0.55 -41.49%),EOX (0.97 -38.21%),REN (1.1 -37.14%),SARA (0.16 -35.52%),NKA (2.88 -31.91%),FST (0.36 -31.03%),ECR (5.56 -29.53%)
Consumer Staples:RCPI (0.15 -30.36%)

3:29 pm Earnings Preview for the week of December 15 - 19 (:SUMRX) : Of the companies reporting earnings for the week of December 15 - 19 some of the bigger names include:

Monday: After Hours - PAY, FCEL

Tuesday: Pre Market - NAV, DRI, FDS
After Hours - HEI

Wednesday: Pre Market - FDX, GIS, JOY, EGRX
After Hours - ORCL, JBL, MLHR, APOG

Thursday: Pre Market - ACN, RAD, CAG, WOR, SAFM, SCHL, WGO, BRLI, MCS, NEOG
After Hours - NKE, CTAS, PIR, AIR, RHT

Friday: Pre Market - KMX, BBRY, PAYX, FINL

12:49 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
ADBE (76.72 +10.01%): Beat Q4 consensus estimates by $0.06, reported revs in-line; Acquires Fotolia for approx $800 mln in cash; Price tgt raise at RBC Capital Mkts, FBR, others.CAJ (32.95 +1.67%): Disclosed an investor update with reaffirmed FY14 projections and increased dividend news.SPLS (16.57 +2.89%): Upgraded to Buy from Underperformat BofA/Merrill.
Large Cap Losers
EMR (58.44 -4.7%): Heard downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.CTXS (60.61 -2.73%): Initiated with a Underweight at Piper Jaffray; tgt $63.SHW (246.96 -2.85%): Co issued FY14 sales at low end of previous range; guided FY15 ~in-line.
Mid Cap Gainers
TLM (4.99 +35.23%): Multiple reports out this morning that Repsol (REPYY) may be close to a deal to acquire TLM.CTRP (46.36 +7.76%): Positive mention at Chinese firm 86 Research suggesting insiders are accumulating shares.GPRO (62.57 +4.2%): Upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
Mid Cap Losers
SSTK (62.17 -13.26%): Down following Adobe's (ADBE) acquisition of Fotolia announced last night.
ESL (103.11 -12.27%): Reported Q4 (Oct) earnings of $1.82 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.91; revenues rose 6.7% year/year to $548.1 mln vs the $554.38 mln consensus.
WIN (8.57 -8.64%): Unfavorable mention on Thursday's Mad Money; Co announced that Tony Thomas has been appointed President and CEO effective immediately; Company notes they remain committed to REIT spinoff.

12:35 pm JDS Uniphase: Sandell Asset Management issues statement after the release of final voting results from the JDSU's 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, 'results should be a wake-up call to the Board of Directors ' (JDSU) : "Sandell is encouraged by the support it received from JDSU stockholders, who together voted approximately 57.9 million shares 'AGAINST' current Director Martin Kaplan, or more than 34% of the shares voting at the Annual Meeting. Furthermore, Mr. Kaplan was elected with only 47% of total outstanding shares voting in his favor; approximately 35.4 million shares either voted to abstain or were broker non-votes. The fact that Sandell was able to generate such strong support without actively soliciting proxies from stockholders speaks in our view to the profound frustration of the investor base to the entrenchment actions taken by this Company's Board of Directors (the 'Board') and its refusal to conduct a more fulsome process to unlock stockholder value."

12:13 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session- New lows (107) outpacing new highs (16) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ADBE, BMS, CY, DAL, ED, ETR, HCN, HCP, HTA, ODP, SHO, SO, SPLS, TTWO, UAL, VTR

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ABEV, AM, AMD, APA, APC, AU, BBEP, BBVA, BHP, BP, BSMX, BTU, CAM, CBI, CCJ, CHK, CIE, CIG, CLR, CNQ, COP, CVE, CVX, CX, CXO, CZZ, DDD, DVN, ECA, EPE, ERF, ESV, FCX, FLR, FLS, FSLR, FTI, GGB, GME, HAL, HES, HFC, HP, HSBC, IBM, JEC, JOY, KBR, KLXIV, KOS, LINE, LYB, MBT, MDU, MRO, MT, MUR, NBL, NBR, NE, NOV, NRG, OKS, OXY, P, PAA, PAGP, PBR, PBR.A, PSX, PTEN, PWR, PXD, QEP, RDC, RDS.A, RES, RGP, RIG, RIO, SBS, SDRL, SFUN, SID, SLB, SMFG, SPF, SPN, SPWR, STO, SU, TCK, TOT, TS, UPL, VALE, VALE.P, VIP, VMW, VZ, WFT, WLK, WLL, WPX, WPZ, YNDX, ZU

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: AFK, AMJ, BJK, BNO, DBC, DIG, ECH, EEB, EWA, EWM, EWW, EWY, EWZ, FXA, FXC, GSG, HYG, IEO, IGE, ILF, IXC, IYE, JNK, KOL, OIH, OIL, PBW, RSX, SEA, SGG, SLX, UGA, UHN, USCI, USO, XES, XLE, XME, XOP

Note: To reduce the list of stocks making 52 week highs/lows to a manageable size we have filtered out stocks below $2 bln in market cap and below 1 mln average volume. Without this filter 81 stocks made 52 week highs and 542 stocks made 52 week lows.

8:31 am Marvell increases share repurchase authorization by $250 mln; cumulative total authorized now amounts to $3.25 bln (MRVL) : Through November 1, 2014, Marvell had approximately $213 million available in the share repurchase program. Under the share repurchase program and through the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2015, Marvell has repurchased and retired over 220 million shares or about 30 percent of the outstanding shares.