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From Briefing.com: The Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (-2.2%) industry group led all decliners in the Information Technology Sector. Worst performers in the Philadelphia SOX Index were SunEdison (SUNE 17.59 -1.14) and NXP Semiconductor (NXPI 72.38 -3.62). Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals was the top performer, although it still finished 0.34% lower on the day.

As a whole, the Tech sector has posted 5 consecutive losing days, a streak that was not seen at all in 2014. The S&P Information Technology Index fell 1.22% on Tuesday, underperforming the broader market by a notable amount, with the S&P 500 losing just 0.89% in comparison.

Micron (MU 32.87 -0.91) kicked off the earnings season for the technology sector on Tuesday. Highlights from the report include revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 that were $4.57 billion, 13% higher year/year, but slightly below the $4.61 billion consensus estimate. Additionally, MU reported earnings of $0.97 per share, which beat average analyst estimates of $0.92. The company also reported that its overall consolidated gross margin of 36% for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 was up from 33% year/year.

Elsewhere, Twitter (TWTR 38.76 +2.38) skyrocketed x% amid comments by Yahoo's (YHOO 49.21 +0.08) former interim CEO Ross Levinsohn. Levinsohn mentioned that Twitter should consider the acquisition of YHOO. He went on to explain how the combination of Yahoo's large media business with Twitter's massive real-time business would create one of the most powerful media businesses in the world. We note that there has been no confirmation by either company of plans to merge.

Adding to that story, YHOO reported that mobile app usage grew by 76% year over year, defined as a user opening an app and recording a session. This substantial growth rate was primarily driven by an increase in mobile shopping, utilities & productivity, and messaging usage.

On a more forward looking note, Apple (AAPL 106.26 +0.01) reported that it was granted a U.S patent for a flexible portable device that can essentially fold up similar to a wallet. Several tech companies have experimented with the idea of a flexible, bendable mobile device, including Samsung (SSNLF) and LG Display (LPL 15.07 +0.27), among others. It is little surprise that these innovative companies are looking for ways to differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market. The current trend of producing phones with larger screens can only go so far before we are all carrying around tablets, but if that tablet could fold up and fit in your back pocket, everything changes. This is certainly not something that is going to come to fruition overnight, but rather a peek into future trends in the industry.

In the world of analyst ratings, Ambarella (AMBA 52.88 +2.21) was initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity, which set its price target at $66.

Also, NetSuite (N 103.52 -2.27) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

F5 Networks (FFIV 126.73 -3.03) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham.

New Relic (NEWR 35.60 -1.65) was initiated with an Overweight at JP Morgan, and a Market Outperform at JMP Securities, both setting a $45 price target for the security.

Finally, Infoblox (BLOX 19.72 +0.37) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, its price target raised to $23 from $17.

4:12 pm Closing Market Summary: Greece and Oil Keep Market Under Pressure (:WRAPX) : Equity indices ended the Tuesday session in the red with the Russell 2000 (-1.7%) pacing the retreat. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 lost 0.9% with eight sectors registering losses.

The stock market held up relatively well through the first hour of action, but the return of some recent concerns pressured cyclical sectors and the broader market into negative territory. Specifically, the S&P 500 reversed from its session high after The Financial Times reported, citing Oxford Economics research, that Syriza party in Greece is on track to win enough votes that would translate into a mandate to push back against austerity policies imposed by the European Union. In addition to hitting U.S. stocks, the news knocked European markets off their highs and set a fire under U.S. Treasuries. The resulting safe-haven flows underpinned Treasuries, sending the benchmark 10-yr yield lower by seven basis points to 1.96% after marking a low just under the 1.89% level.

However, the market had more to contend with than just the update regarding Greece. Namely, crude oil continued its sharp downtrend while fund manager Bill Gross of Janus Capital published his investment outlook for 2015, which revealed that Mr. Gross expects negative returns from 'many' asset classes. This disclosure wasn't entirely new, considering Mr. Gross was quoted by Reuters yesterday as saying "Be prepared for low returns in almost all asset categories."

As for oil, the energy component was little changed in early overnight action, but began slipping just ahead of the opening bell in Europe. Crude was unable to pull away from its overnight low, extending its decline to 4.0% at $48.10/bbl. The commodity ended the pit session down 10.5% from its 2014 close.

Meanwhile, the energy sector (-1.3%) settled near the bottom of the leaderboard, only ahead of financials (-1.5%). Major energy components like ConocoPhillips (COP 62.93, -2.71), EOG Resources (EOG 84.20, -2.48) and Schlumberger (SLB 81.72, -1.63) lost between 2.0% and 4.1% while Dow members Chevron (CVX 108.03, -0.05) and ExxonMobil (XOM 89.81, -0.48) outperformed.

Elsewhere, the industrial sector (-0.9%) also spent the day among the laggards. For the second day in a row, transport stocks were partially responsible for the underperformance as the Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 1.7%. FedEx (FDX 169.79, -0.01) was unable to hold its intraday gain, ending flat, after UBS upgraded the logistics company to 'Buy.' As for the Transportation Average, the bellwether complex is now down 4.3% after the first two sessions of the week.

The S&P 500 was able to reclaim about a third of its decline during afternoon action with countercyclical sectors lending some support. Consumer staples (unch) and health care (-0.3%) outperformed while the two smallest sectors by weight-telecom services (+0.4%) and utilities (+0.1%)-spent the bulk of the session in positive territory.

Today's participation was well ahead of average with more than 915 million shares changing hands at the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Economic data was limited to Factory Orders and ISM Services:


Factory orders posted their fourth consecutive monthly decline, falling 0.7% in November which was worse than the 0.4% decline expected by the Briefing.com consensus

The October reading was left unrevised at -0.7%
Orders for durable goods declined 0.9%, which was more than a previously reported 0.7% decline. Nondurable goods orders, meanwhile, declined 0.5%
Shipments, which factor into GDP growth, declined 0.6% in November on top of a 0.9% decline in October

The ISM Services Index for December fell to 56.2 from 59.3 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a downtick to 58.5 The dip in December was driven by a pullback in all index categories with two indices falling into contraction: Backlog of Orders Index fell to 49.5 from 55.5
Prices Index fell to 49.5 from 54.4
Tomorrow the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while the December ADP Employment Change report (Briefing.com consensus 230K) will cross the wires at 8:15 ET. The November trade deficit (consensus $41.80 billion) will be reported at 8:30 ET while the FOMC Minutes from the December meeting will be released at 14:00 ET.
Dow Jones Industrial Average -2.5% YTD
S&P 500 -2.7% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -3.0% YTD Russell 2000 -3.6% YTD

4:04 pm Micron beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line (MU) : Reports Q1 (Nov) earnings of $0.97 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.92; revenues rose 13.1% year/year to $4.57 bln vs the $4.61 bln consensus. The company's overall consolidated gross margin of 36 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 was up from 33 percent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.

12:52 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (200) outpacing new highs (159) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAT, ACC, ACH, ADC, AEC, AIV, AKR, ALKS, AMAG, APSA, APU, ARE, AVIV, AYN, BAF, BBF, BBK, BBN, BERY, BGSF, BLUE, BNDX, BNY, BSE, BTT, BTX, BYM, CBL, CBOE, CDR, CHRS, CLDT, CNXR, COR, CQB, CUBE, CUTR, CVTI, DEI, DGICA, DMF, DOC, EBIX, EDR, EDUC, EIM, ELMD, ELS, EQR, EQY, ESPR, ESRT, EXR, FGEN, FMB, FRT, GBAB, GBLI, GFI, GGP, HCN, HCP, HCT, HIW, HME, HPP, HR, HTA, HTBK, IFNA, IIM, INGN, IQI, KITE, KRC, LTC, MAA, MAC, MBSD, MCA, MFL, MHD, MIFI, MIY, MLVF, MMV, MOC, MPA, MPW, MQT, MTT, MUE, MUJ, MVF, MYC, MYD, MYI, MYM, NAC, NAD, NBB, NBD, NEA, NERV, NEV, NHI, NID, NIO, NJV, NNN, NPF, NPI, NPM, NQI, NQM, NQS, NRO, NXP, NXQ, NXR, NZH, O, OHI, PCG, PCQ, PMO, PNI, PPS, PSA, PTSI, PZC, PZZA, REG, RESN, RIC, RIF, RIT, RPAI, SBRA, SGC, SKT, SPG, SRC, SSS, STZ, STZ.B, UDR, UHT, VCV, VGLT, VGM, VKI, VKQ, VMO, VNO, VTR, WRE, ZMH, ZNH

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACRE, ACWX, ADRD, ADRU, AEG, AIT, AIXG, AKO.B, ANR, AR, ASCMA, ASRV, ASTI, ATU, AV, AVAV, AVP, AWAY, AWF, AWX, BAK, BALT, BBVA, BGR, BNS, BOKF, BOOM, BPI, BSPM, BTU, BXC, BXE, CAAS, CAT, CEE, CEL, CFNB, CFR, CHOP, CHT, CHUY, CIR, CKEC, CLD, CLWT, CMRE, CNX, COG, COMT, CRC, CS, CVEO, DB, DBD, DEO, DMD, DQ, DSS, DSWL, DWCH, EAC, ELON, ENRJ, ENVA, EQT, EVEP, FBRC, FEUZ, FMSA, FRD, FSIC, FSLR, GALE, GEOS, GHM, GLNG, GLOW, GNE, GSK, GTLS, GYRO, HBHC, HCLP, HEES, HELI, HERO, HIE, HK, HLF, HLX, HMC, HSBC, HSOL, HTH, HY, IBTX, ICD, ICLD, IGD, IHS, IID, ING, ITT, IX, JOY, KEX, KND, KORS, KUTV, KWK, LDR, LOR, LRE, LRN, LUB, LYG, MCF, MFG, MGIC, MN, MR, MT, MTSL, MXC, MXE, NBG, NBL, NCTY, NEFF, NUE, OCN, OIBR, OIBR.C, OII, OXM, P, PACD, PB, PBR, PBR.A, PCYO, PDLI, PDS, PERI, PFMT, PGN, PT, PTNR, PWE, QCRH, REXX, RFIL, RICE, RLOC, RMP, RRC, RYI, SAN, SB, SCHN, SD, SDRL, SGF, SSYS, STB, STRI, SWN, TAPR, TAT, TCBI, TEF, TIVO, TOT, TRMB, TRN, TRT, TWIN, TWN, TZOO, UBS, UPL, UTEK, VMI, VNCE, VRA, VRNG, VSCI, VTG, VXUS, WAC, WBAI, WGO, WNR, WOR, XCO, XNY, YDLE, YUMA, ZHNE, ZU

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: FLAT, ICF, TLH, TLT, URE, UUP, VNQ

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: BJK, BNO, DBC, EFA, EIS, EPOL, EWI, EWM, EWP, EWQ, EWU, EWY, FXB, FXC, FXE, FXF, GREK, GSG, KOL, OIL, PBW, TAN, TBT, UGA, UHN, UNG, URA, USO

12:50 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

GG (20.32 +7.8%): Gold companies enjoying a bump as the spot price of the precious metal jumps $14 to $1218 (ABX also higher).
MNST (111.53 +1.92%): Initiated with a Buy at Argus; tgt $145.
ANTM (125.33 +1.68%): Upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, tgt to $145 from $116.

Large Cap Losers

KORS (66.13 -9.41%): Downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse; tgt lowered to $79 from $103.
PVH (116.25 -4.64%): Downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
CSX (33.59 -3.7%): Downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, tgt to $38 from $40.

Mid Cap Gainers

AOL (47.01 +5.07%): There were reports out overnight that Verizon (VZ) may consider an acquisition of or a JV with AOL.
MSCI (48.62 +2.92%): ValueAct Capital disclosed an 8.3% active stake in amended 13D filing; expressed displeasure with Board of Directors handling of ValueAct's request for a board seat.
HII (113.16 +2.66%): Upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Mid Cap Losers

ICPT (158.31 -10.56%): Down after Gilead (GILD) acquired competitive NASH franchise, Phenex's Farnesoid X Receptor program.
IDTI (17.14 -9.31%): Heard that a sell-side out cautious on the name suggesting the company may have lost a large contract.
GEVA (92.66 -7.78%): Announced it intends to offer for sale 2.50 mln shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering.