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From Briefing.com: There was a winter storm on Tuesday, not so much in New York City as there was on Wall Street. Hit by a slate of disappointing guidance from large-cap, multinational companies and a surprisingly weak Durable Goods Orders report for December, the major indices succumbed to broad-based selling pressure.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite, and S&P 500 dropped 1.7%, 1.9%, and 1.3%, respectively. At their worst levels of the day, however, they were down 2.2%, 2.4%, and 1.8%, respectively.

The weakest link in the broader market was the S&P 500 information technology sector (-3.3%). That was owed in large part to Microsoft (MSFT 42.66, -4.35, -9.3%), which tanked after it reported its fiscal second quarter results and issued disappointing guidance for the March quarter.

Its weakness bled into Intel (INTC 34.19, -1.62, -4.5%) and other PC-related issues including, but not limited to, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 37.36, -1.48, -3.8%), Micron (MU 29.65, -1.37, -4.4%), Western Digital (WDC 97.63, -3.35, -3.3%), and Apple (AAPL 109.14, -3.96, -3.5%), the latter of which was slated to report its results after Tuesday's close.

Really, though, Microsoft's showing and its acknowledgment that foreign currency will be a headwind cast a pall on many of the sector's largest components. Microsoft wasn't alone with its foreign currency problems. Caterpillar (CAT 79.85, -6.18, -7.2%), Procter & Gamble (PG 86.49, -3.09, -3.5%), Pfizer (PFE 26.60, -0.20, -0.6%), DuPont (DD 73.18, -0.93, -1.3%), and United Technologies (UTX 119.16, +0.41, +0.4%) all tempered their 2015 guidance on account of the dollar's strength. Those views set the tone for Tuesday's downturn.

Most of Tuesday's relevant news for the technology stocks was earnings-related. With that, the synopsis below is concentrated on the key earnings results released following the close of trading on Monday and both before and after the close of trading on Tuesday.

Microsoft (MSFT 42.66, -4.35, -9.3%): After Monday's close, the company reported Q2 (Dec) GAAP earnings of $0.71 per share, in-line with expectations on an 8.0% year/year increase in revenue to $26.47 bln that was slightly above expectations. The EPS figure include $0.06 in unfavorable items ($0.02 from restructuring/integration and $0.04 from an IRS tax adjustment). Devices and Consumer revenue grew 8% to $12.9 billion. Commercial revenue grew 5% to $13.3 billion. Separately, Microsoft announced its intention to complete the existing $40 bln share repurchase authorization by Dec 31, 2016. On call, noted that headwinds include geopolitical issues in China, macro issues in Japan, the transition to the cloud and FX.

Texas Instruments (TXN 54.83, -0.22, -0.4%): After Monday's close, the company reported Q4 (Dec) GAAP earnings of $0.69 per share, in-line with analysts' average expectation. EPS included a $0.05 loss for a Federal Tax Credit and a $0.02 loss on a sale of assets. The quarter was in-line with the company's guidance of $0.64-0.74. Revenues rose 8.0% year/year to $3.27 bln, which was also in-line with estimates. For Q1, Texas Instruments sees EPS of $0.57-0.67 and revenues of $3.07-3.33 bln. The midpoint of its EPS estimate is in-line with expectations.

Corning (GLW 24.73, +0.82, +3.4%): Before Tuesday's open, reported Q4 (Dec) core earnings of $0.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, which was ahead of analysts' average expectation. Core revenues rose 29.8% year/year to $2.60 bln, driven by growth in all segments. Corning said it is entering 2015 with momentum. In the first quarter, LCD glass volume for its Display Technologies segment is expected to be consistent to down slightly on a sequential basis, which is in-line with normal seasonal patterns, and quarterly glass price declines are expected to be moderate again. Core sales for the Optical Communications segment are expected to increase more than 10% year-over-year while Specialty Materials segment core sales should be up approximately 10%. The Environmental Technologies and Life Sciences segments are anticipated to deliver core sales that are comparable with the same period a year ago.

Apple (AAPL 109.14, -3.96, -3.5%): After Tuesday's close, reported Q1 (Dec) earnings of $3.06 per share, well ahead of estimates. Revenues rose 29.5% year/year to $74.6 bln, which was also well ahead of analysts' average expectation. Gross margins were 39.9% versus company's guidance of 37.5-38.5%. Q1 iPhones were 74.5 mln versus 51 mln last year and estimates for around 67 mln. Q1 iPads were 21.4 mln versus 26 mln last year and estimates of approximately 22 mln. Q1 Macs were 5.5 mln versus 4.8 mln last year and were in-line with estimates. For Q2, Apple sees revenues of $52.0-55.0 bln, in-line with expectations, and gross margins of 38.5-39.5%. CEO Tim Cook said development of Apple Watch is on schedule and that shipments are set to begin in April. AAPL shares were up 4.8% in after-hours action as of this post.

Yahoo (YHOO 47.99, -1.45, -2.9%): After Tuesday's close Yahoo! reported Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, slightly ahead of estimates; revenues fell 1.7% year/year to $1.18 bln. Yahoo! said it sees Q1 revs ex-tac in the range of $1.02-1.06 bln, which is below analysts' average expectation. Separately, Yahoo! announced management has recommended and the Board of Directors has authorized a plan for a tax-free spin-off of the company's remaining holdings in

Alibaba Group (BABA 102.94, -1.05, -1.0%) into a newly formed independent registered investment company.
Following the spin-off, Yahoo will continue to operate its core business and hold its 35.5% interest in Yahoo Japan. SpinCo will own all of Yahoo's remaining 384 million shares of Alibaba, valued at $40 billion based on the closing price on January 26, 2015, as well as a legacy, ancillary Yahoo business. SpinCo will assume no debt in the transaction, and Yahoo will retain its cash. The completion of the transaction is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2015 after the expiration of its one-year lock-up agreement on the Alibaba shares entered into in connection with the IPO. YHOO shares were up 7.1% in after-hours action as of this post.

Electronic Arts (EA 48.41, -1.06, -2.2%): After Tuesday's close, reported Q3 (Dec) earnings of $1.22 per share, excluding non-recurring items, well ahead of estimates. Non-GAAP revenues fell 9.2% year/year to $1.43 bln but outpaced analysts' average expectation. For its Q4 (Mar), Electronic Arts sees EPS of approximately $0.22, excluding non-recurring items, and non-GAAP revenues of approximately $830 mln, both of which are shy of consensus expectations. Shares of EA were up 4.5% in after-hours action as of this post.

Juniper Networks (JNPR 21.83, -0.32, -1.4%): After Tuesday's close, reportedQ4 (Dec) Non-GAAP earnings of $0.41 per share, comfortably ahead of estimates. Revenues fell 13.5% year/year to $1.1 bln. The company issued in-line guidance for Q1, saying it sees EPS of $0.28-0.32 and revenues of $1.02-1.06 bln. Non-GAAP gross margin will be ~63.5%, plus or minus 0.5%. Juniper added that $1 billion of aggregate share repurchases will be completed before the end of Q2'15 subject to Juniper raising additional debt financing. Shares of JNPR were up 4.7% in after-hours action as of this post.

Western Digital (WDC 97.63, -3.35, -3.3%): After Tuesday's close, reported Q2 (Dec) earnings of $2.26 per share, better than expected. Revenues fell 2.1% year/year to $3.89 bln.

Sanmina (SANM 20.97, -2.39, -10.2%): After Monday's close, reported Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.61 per share, excluding non-recurring items, which was better than analysts' average expectation. Revenues rose 15.4% year/year to $1.67 bln. Sanmina issued in-line guidance for Q2, saying it sees EPS of $0.50-0.55, excluding non-recurring items, and revenues of $1.575-1.625 bln. The company added that its outlook for the second quarter is slightly down sequentially primarily due to seasonality, and that it believes demand will improve in the second half of the year.

Lattice Semi (LSCC 7.30, +0.71, +10.8%): Before Tuesday's open, reaffirmed its guidance for Q4 (Dec), saying it sees Q4 (Dec) revenues of flat to +4% sequentially to ~$83.1-86.6 mln, in-line with expectations. Gross margin percentage is expected to be approximately 57% plus or minus 2%. This is unchanged from the company's original guidance. Separately, Lattice Semiconductor announced it will acquire Silicon Image (SIMG 7.29, +1.39, +23.6%) in an all-cash tender offer of $7.30 per share. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive on a non-GAAP basis through efficiencies in operating expenses and supply chain.

Applied Micro (AMCC 5.88, -0.34, -5.5%): After Tuesday's close, reported Q3 (Dec) loss of $0.09 per share, excluding non-recurring items, that was slightly ahead of expectations. Revenues fell 33.0% year/year to $36.7 mln.

Freescale Semi (FSL 26.35, +0.17, +0.7%): After Tuesday's close, reported Q4 (Dec) adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share, well ahead of expectations. Revenues rose 1.9% year/year to $1.1 bln. For the first quarter, sees revenues of $1.135-1.185 bln, which is ahead of expectations, and gross margins essentially flat on a sequential basis. FSL shares were up 9.1% in after-hours action.

VMware (VMW 80.61, -1.85, -2.2%): After Tuesday's close, reported Q4 (Dec) adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share, just ahead of expectations. Revenues rose 14.8% year/year to $1.7 bln. License revenues for the fourth quarter were $777 million, an increase of 13% from the fourth quarter of 2013, or up 16% year over year in constant currency. VMware also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the purchase of up to $1 billion of its Class A common stock through the end of 2017 and that it expects the stock repurchase program to more than offset dilution from its equity compensation programs in 2015. The new stock repurchase authorization is in addition to VMware's ongoing $1 billion stock repurchase program, originally announced August 6, 2014.

4:15 pm : The major averages stumbled on Tuesday with the S&P 500 (-1.3%) returning below its 50-day moving average (2,047). The benchmark index settled ahead of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.7%), but behind the Russell 2000 (-0.5%).

Stocks careened lower at the start of today's session after several large companies cautioned that dollar strength will present a headwind to their future earnings. Most notably, Caterpillar (CAT 79.92, -6.11), DuPont (DD 73.18, -0.93), Microsoft (MSFT 42.66, -4.35), and Procter & Gamble (PG 86.49, -3.09) lost between 1.3% and 9.3% while Pfizer (PFE 32.60, -0.20), and United Technologies (UTX 119.16, +0.41) held up relatively well despite their warnings.

However, cautious guidance from six Dow components was not the only issue as investors had to digest a disappointing Durable Orders report while Consumer Confidence and New Home Sales beat expectations.

The Russell 2000 was able to stay ahead of the broader market as domestically-oriented small cap stocks benefitted from having limited exposure to currency fluctuations. Today's outperformance lifted the small-cap index ahead of the S&P 500 for the month of January. The Russell is lower by 0.8% since the end of 2014 while the S&P 500 has surrendered 1.4% so far this month.

Overall, cyclical sectors bore the brunt of today's losses with the top-weighted technology sector tumbling 3.3%. Microsoft's 9.3% decline was a notable drag on the index, but other large cap names also registered losses. Google (GOOGL 521.55, -15.17) and Intel (INTC 34.19, -1.62) lost 2.8% and 4.5%, respectively, while Apple (AAPL 109.13, -3.97) fell 3.5% ahead of its quarterly report. Investors are likely to pay close attention to Apple's guidance to see if the company joins the chorus of influential names voicing concern over greenback strength.

Elsewhere, the industrial sector (-1.3%) was the only other underperformer on the cyclical side, but the group caught up to the S&P 500 just ahead of the close. Caterpillar's 7.2% dive pressured the sector while transport stocks settled just ahead of the broader market. The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 1.2%.

Over on the countercyclical side, consumer staples (-1.2%) finished in-line with the S&P 500 while health care (-0.8%), telecom services (-1.1%), and utilities (+0.2%) outperformed.

Similar to utilities, the energy sector (-0.2%) spent the day ahead of the broader market with crude oil lending support. The energy component rose 2.3% to $46.21/bbl while the energy sector narrowed its weekly gain to 1.2%.

Treasuries round tripped, spiking in the morning just to spend the remainder of the session in a slide from highs. The benchmark 10-yr yield slipped one basis point to 1.81% after testing the 1.76% level in the morning.

Today's participation was below average with fewer than 700 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included Durable Orders, Consumer Confidence, New Home Sales, and Case-Shiller 20-city Index:

Durable goods orders declined 3.4% in December after declining a downwardly revised 2.1% (from -0.9%) while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.5%
A significant portion of the negative surprise came from seasonal adjustments in the aircraft sector. Even though Boeing (BA 132.48, -1.59) reported a positive increase in orders on a month-to-month basis, sales actually declined significantly once seasonal factors were taken into consideration. Aircraft orders declined 46.4% in December, which led to a 9.2% decline in overall transportation orders
Excluding transportation, durable goods orders fell 0.8% in November after declining a downwardly revised 1.3% (from -0.7%) while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.7%
New home sales increased 11.6% in December to 481,000 from a downwardly revised 431,000 (from 438,000) while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 450,000
That was the most new homes sold since 487,000 were sold in June 2008
Total sales in 2014 were marginally better than 2013, inching up 1.2% to 435,000 from 429,000 in 2013
The Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index for November rose 4.3%, which is what the consensus expected
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index jumped to 102.9 in January from an upwardly revised 93.1 (from 92.6) while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 96.0
According to the index, consumer confidence is at its strongest level since August 2007 when the index reached 105.6

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7:00 ET while the FOMC will release its latest policy directive at 14:00 ET.

Russell 2000 -0.8% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -1.2% YTD
S&P 500 -1.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -2.5% YTD

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

ABX (13 +2.44%): Outperformance in gold miners as the precious metal jumps $14 on the day to $1293/oz (GG & NEM also higher).
PLD (47.46 +3.51%): Reported Q4 (Dec) funds from operations of $0.48 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.47; revenues rose 3.2% year/year to $450.86 mln vs the $362.11 mln consensus; Issued upside guidance for FY15 FFO.
GLW (24.31 +1.69%): Reported Q4 (Dec) core earnings of $0.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.38; core revenues rose 29.8% year/year to $2.60 bln vs the $2.49 bln consensus.

Large Cap Losers

CAT (79.53 -7.56%): Reported Q4 earnings that missed consensus estimates by $0.22, reported revs in-line; guided FY15 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus.
PHG (28.66 -5.44%): Reported Q4 (Dec) earnings of 0.15 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of 0.22; revenues fell 4.4% year/year to 6.5 bln vs the 6.94 bln consensus.
FCX (18.68 -4.5%): Missed Q4 consensus EPS estimates by $0.10, beat on revs.

Mid Cap Gainers

COMM (25.03 +15.81%): Reports out that TE Connectivity (TEL) may be close to a deal to sell its network business to Commscope for $3 bln.
PII (147.85 +4.51%): Beat Q4 consensus estimates by $0.04, beat on revs; guided FY15 EPS below consensus, revs in-line.
DO (34.44 +4.97%): Select strength in offshore oil drillers following reports this morning that President Obama may allow drilling off the Atlantic Coast.

Mid Cap Losers

PLT (45.37 -12.97%): Missed Q3 consensus EPS estimates by $0.02, beat on revs; guided Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus.
PKG (74.82 -8.26%): Reported Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.16 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.17; revenues rose 13.4% year/year to $1.43 bln vs the $1.49 bln consensus; issued downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.07-1.10 vs. $1.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
GGG (72.59 -5.93%): Reported Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.83; revenues rose 12.5% year/year to $306 mln vs the $299.85 mln consensus.

11:37 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (188) outpacing new lows (87) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ACC, AHP, AIV, AKR, ALE, AOS, ARE, ATO, AVB, AWR, BAH, BBK, BBN, BFS, BFZ, BLE, BMR, BNJ, BRX, BV, BX, BXP, CARB, CCXI, CDR, CERN, CEV, CHSP, CMS, CNK, COR, CPT, CRRC, CTCT, CUK, CXW, DCT, DDR, DEG, DFT, DLR, DNP, DOC, DOOR, DRE, DXCM, DYAX, ED, ELS, EPR, EQR, EQY, ESRT, ESS, EXL, FRT, GBAB, GEO, GFED, GGP, GLW, GPT, GXP, HDB, HME, HNT, HQL, HR, HTA, HURN, HZO, IBN, ICBK, IIM, IMAX, IPXL, IRC, IRWD, KIM, KR, KRC, KRG, LAMR, LJPC, LPT, LTC, MAA, MEN, MHN, MIFI, MMD, MNP, MPW, MTT, MUC, MUH, MUJ, MVF, MYD, MYN, NATH, NBB, NBD, NBIX, NEE, NHI, NKX, NMA, NMZ, NNN, NPI, NPP, NQI, NQU, NRO, NUV, NVAX, NXP, NXQ, NXR, NXTM, NXZ, NYLD, O, OCUL, OFC, OPHT, OPK, PCG, PCYC, PDM, PFD, PLD, PMF, PML, PMX, PNI, POR, PSB, PSXP, PYN, PZC, RDUS, RHP, RIC, RIT, RLJ, RPT, RQI, RSG, SBUX, SCG, SCSS, SCX, SLG, SO, SPG, SRC, SSS, STAG, STON, SUI, SURG, TA, TE, TEG, TEL, TRNO, TSO, UBA, UDR, UVE, VCLT, VCV, VFL, VGLT, VGR, VLGEA, VTR, WAT, WEC, WEN, WIFI, WPC, WR, WRE, WRI, XEL

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACAT, ACI, AIMC, ANGI, AOI, APPS, ARCI, ARTW, BALT, BDE, BPFH, BTU, BXE, CAT, CIG, CLD, CM, COMT, CPSS, CROX, CS, CTCM, CXDC, EDU, EFII, EGLE, EMR, ERII, EXTR, FMY, FOE, FRD, FTI, GAI, GEF, GHM, GSOL, HEAR, HEES, IGLD, IRE, JOE, JOY, KBIO, MDM, MOMO, MSL, MVC, NBG, NRIM, NUE, OI, PICO, PKX, PRAN, RCI, REE, RGSE, RIVR, SALT, SCHN, SDPI, SHIP, SIM, SPNS, SR, SRV, STAA, STRL, SVVC, SXC, TAPR, TESS, TEX, THR, TISA, TNGO, TST, TZOO, UE, VPCO, VSCI, WAVX, WGO, WLT, WTW, ZION

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: ICF, IYR, LQD, MUB, TLT, URE, VNQ, XBI

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: GREK, JJC, TBT, VNM

M&A news: SIMG +23.1% (to be acquired by Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) in an all-cash tender offer of $7.30 per share)