From Briefing.com: The stock market managed to string together some modest gains on Thursday, overcoming some morning weakness. Turnaround efforts coincided with the S&P 500 testing and holding technical support at its 50-day simple moving average (2074).
Buying efforts were fairly broad-based. The only sectors not participating were the defensive-oriented utilities (-0.5%) and telecom services (-0.1%) sectors.
The S&P 500 information technology sector (+0.4%) posted a modest gain of its own, helped by advances in a number of its large-cap components. The semiconductor group was an actively-traded one on Thursday, not to mention a resilient group.
Before the open, CNBC's David Faber reported that Intel (INTC31.24, -0.07, -0.2%) ended takeover talks with programmable logic chip maker Altera (ALTR 43.33, +1.33, +3.2%) after the two companies could not agree on a price. Intel reportedly made an offer in the low-$50 per share range. Altera fell more than 7% after the initial report but came bounding back later in the session on speculation that it will ultimately be compelled to accept the premium offer. Its recovery helped drive a 1.3% gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX). In fact, the only member of the SOX Index that didn't trade higher was Intel.
Notable news items from sector components included the following:
Apple (AAPL 126.56, +0.96, +0.8%): Confirmed Apple Watch will be available for preview and pre-order on Friday, April 10. Customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US will be able to pre-order the new device. AAPL said, "We expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch." Separately, TechCrunch reported that it has learned that Apple acquired keyboard app company Dryft
Autodesk (ADSK 62.82, +0.99, +1.6%): Announced its $10 million investment in Carbon3D from the Spark Investment Fund.
CA, Inc. (CA 31.44, -0.86, -2.7%): Disclosed that in an interview published on the Internet on April 7, 2015, Michael Gregoire, the Chief Executive Officer of CA, inadvertently referenced certain performance metrics for the Company's Enterprise Solutions segment. The statistics Mr. Gregoire cited were actually the Company's total new product sales performance for fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013, with one clarification - while the Company has not completed its year end close processes and audit, it expects that total new product sales for fiscal year 2015 will decline by an approximate mid-single-digit percentage when compared to fiscal year 2014, rather than the Enterprise Solutions segment being "pretty much flat" as referenced in the interview. The Company previously reported total new product sales performance for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 in its Annual Reports on Form 10-K for those years. The Company will report in full on these metrics for fiscal year 2015 when it releases its full fiscal year earnings.
Facebook (FB 82.17, -0.11, -0.1%): To introduce FB messenger for web browsers
FLIR Systems (FLIR 31.27, +0.36, +1.2%): Company announced that it has received the second full-rate production order under a five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to support the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Dismounted Reconnaissance Sets, Kits, and Outfits program. The contract is for FLIR's integrated chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives threat response system and related spares and services. The follow-on order is for systems totaling $51.1 mln.
Intel (INTC 31.24, -0.07, -0.2%): CNBC's David Faber reported that Intel dropped talks to acquire Altera (ALTR 43.33, +1.33, +3.2%). Faber said that Intel had made an offer in the low $50's that was rejected by ALTR and that they were unable to ever agree on price. Separately, Intel announced the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne Leadership Computing Facility has awarded Intel a contract to deliver two next-generation supercomputers at Argonne National Laboratory
Salesforce (CRM 67.74, -0.47, -0.7%): Launched it next gen Sales Cloud B2B marketing automation. Powered by Salesforce Pardot, the new Intelligent Engagement Studio and Sales Cloud Engage will deliver adaptive lead nurturing, visualized campaign testing and mobile marketing tools
Teradata (TDC 45.89, +0.27, +0.6%): Announced that Premise Health has selected Teradata to provide a problem-solving cloud-based solution for analytic insight to enhance customer engagement and quality of care
Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX 43.32, +0.77, +1.8%): Announced that its All Programmable devices are enabling Blackmagic Design to develop complete 4K camera systems on a chip
Elsewhere in the technology space:
Alibaba (BABA 86.14, +0.75, +0.9%): Reuters reported that Alibaba and its finance affiliate launched an e-commerce tracking stock index and plans for a June start of an internet bank.
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN 383.54, +2.34, +0.6%): Announced that Prime Now has launched in Austin. The service, offered exclusively as a benefit to Prime members, provides one-hour delivery on daily essentials. Separately, Amazon Web Services announced the availability of a new category called AWS Marketplace for Desktop Apps, and its Amazon Machine Learning service
LinkedIn (LNKD 256.14, +3.88, +1.5%): Entered into an agreement to acquire lynda.com for $1.5 bln. lynda.com is an online learning company teaching business, technology and creative skills to help people achieve their professional goals. The transaction is valued at ~$1.5 bln, subject to adjustment, in a combination of ~52% cash and ~48% stock. Subject to the completion of customary conditions, the acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015.
TripAdvisor (TRIP 83.18, +0.13, +0.2%): Announced acquisition of BestTables; financial terms not disclosed
Analyst Action:
Autodesk (ADSK 62.81, +0.99, +1.6%): initiated with a Buy at Berenberg; target $75
Akamai Technologies (AKAM 71.26, -0.53, -0.7%): initiated with a Hold at Deutsche Bank
Broadcom (BRCM 43.96, +0.99, +2.3%): initiated with a Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann; target $51
Citrix Systems (CTXS 64.53, +0.16, +0.4%): downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch
EMC (EMC 25.95, -0.28, -1.1%): downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at FBN Securities
4:06 pm Extreme Networks follow up: EXTR lowers guidance for Q3; announces Chief Revenue Officer is being replaced (EXTR) : Co issues downside guidance for Q3 (Mar), sees EPS of ($0.09)-($0.07) vs. $0.00 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 (Mar) revs of $118-120 mln vs. $135.28 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
"In the U.S. and Canada, we experienced deferred spending at several key accounts in the higher education market as well as several stadium and venue deals pushing out of the March quarter. Currency impacts in Europe and Latin America resulted in customers delaying or cancelling purchases. Operating expenses came in below the low end of guidance due to tighter expense management throughout the quarter which we plan to continue going forward. Additionally, we continued to reduce our outstanding debt by $20.6 million and expect ending cash balances to be in the range of $74 million to $76 million."
Effective April 6, 2015, Jeff White, who served as EXTR's Chief Revenue Officer, is no longer with the Company. EXTR is currently in the process of identifying a successor.
4:05 pm Closing Market Summary: Energy Sector Leads Stocks Higher (:WRAPX) : The stock market ended Thursday on a modestly higher note after enduring a volatile session. The S&P 500 added 0.5% after finding support at its 50-day moving average (2,076) while small caps struggled with the Russell 2000 sliding 0.4%.
Equity indices rallied out of the gate after index futures erased their overnight losses. However, the cash market did not escape without making its own appearance in the red, but the morning pullback was limited in scope. The S&P 500 briefly dipped below its 50-day moving average and returned into the green in short order. The bulk of the afternoon saw the index range near its unchanged level, but the final hour of action featured a surge to a fresh high for the day.
Eight of ten sectors registered gains with all six cyclical groups ending higher. The growth-sensitive bunch was led by energy (+1.6%), which held the lead throughout the day. The sector held its own while crude oil slumped from its intraday high, but still rose 0.7% to $50.81/bbl.
Meanwhile, the remaining cyclical sectors posted slimmer gains with materials (+0.4%) ending ahead of the broader market. Relative strength among steelmakers and chemical-related names overshadowed Alcoa's (AA 13.22, -0.45) 3.3% decline after the company reported a two-cent beat on below-consensus revenue. In addition, Alcoa said it expects aluminum demand to grow by 6.5% in 2015 after revising its 2014 global demand growth to 9.0% from 7.0%.
Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, technology (+0.3%) lagged in the early going, but narrowed the gap by the close. Intel (INTC 31.24, -0.07) shed 0.2% after it was reported the company is no longer looking to acquire Altera (ALTR 43.33, +1.33) after the two could not agree on a purchase price. Strikingly, Altera was down more than 7.0% in the early going, but managed to end the day higher by 3.2%.
Also of note, the discretionary sector (+0.1%) struggled to keep pace amid weakness in retail names in reaction to disappointing same store sales in March. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 101.11, -0.40) lost 0.4%.
Over on the countercyclical side, the health care sector (+0.8%) outperformed throughout the session while biotechnology could not overtake its early high. Still, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 353.06, +1.05) added 0.3%.
Treasuries retreated throughout the day with the 10-yr yield climbing six basis points to 1.96%.
Today's participation was comparable to recent sessions with more than 675 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
Economic data was limited to initial claims and wholesale inventories:
The initial claims level increased to 281,000 for the week ending April 4 from a downwardly revised 267,000 (from 268,000) for the week ending March 28 The Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 285,000 The four-week moving average has dropped to 282,250 from 285,250, representing the lowest level since June 2000 Wholesale inventories increased 0.3% in February after increasing an upwardly revised 0.4% (from 0.3%) in January The Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.2% Wholesale durable goods inventories increased 0.3% in February, down from a 0.7% increase in January Automotive inventories, up 2.4%, offset declines in most other sectors Tomorrow, Import/Export Prices for March will be released at 8:30 ET while the March Treasury Budget (Briefing.com consensus -$44.00 billion) will cross the wires at 14:00 ET.
1:02 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
WYNN (135.39 +4.73%): Sector wide strength in casino names today (MPEL, LVS also higher).
MYL (71.2 +4.15%): Continued strength after the company yesterday offered to buy Perrigo (PRGO) as some speculate the offer may have been launched to fend off a potential hostile bid.
WBA (90.33 +3.02%): Beat Q2 consensus EPS estimates by $0.23, missed on revs; guided FY15 EPS in-line; reaffirmed FY16 EPS guidance; increased cost savings target.
Large Cap Losers
BBBY (73.01 -6.01%): Reported Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guided Q1 EPS below consensus.
AA (13.13 -3.95%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.02, missed on revs; reaffirmed FY15 alumina demand; price target lowered at Stifel.
SHPG (241.83 -2.12%): Reported topline results from first of three placebo-controlled Phase 2 studies of SHP625 in children with alagille syndrome; did not meet the primary or secondary endpoints.
Mid Cap Gainers
WPX (12.99 +5.48%): Strength in various oil & gas names as crude oil recovers from yesterday decline; WTI currently up 2.5% to $51.70/bbl (PDCE, ESV, PE also higher).
PTEN (20.14 +4.41%): Upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen.
INFN (20.12 +3.55%): Announced an offer to acquire Transmode, a provider of packet-optical networking solutions; Expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS in 2016.
Mid Cap Losers
ZNGA (2.46 -15.34%): Announced that current CEO Don Mattrick will depart the Company and the Board effective April 8, 2015; Mark Pincus, Zynga's founder and chairman, will return to the role of Chief Executive Officer.
BKE (47.63 -4.11%): Reported March comps -0.5% vs. -0.1% Retail Metrics Consensus.
MSM (68.62 -3.7%): Downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T Capital Mkts.
12:23 pm Intel announces the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne Leadership Computing Facility has awarded Intel a contract to deliver two next-generation supercomputers at Argonne National Laboratory (INTC) : Cray (CRAY) also announced it was awarded a subcontract from Intel to integrate and deliver two next-generation supercomputers and associated storage at the U.S. Department of Energy's (:DOE) Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (:ALCF) at Argonne National Laboratory.
12:10 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (165) outpacing new lows (33) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAXJ, ABG, ABM, ACH, ACWI, ADPT, ADUS, ADXS, AEO, AFH, AGO, AHS, ALR, AMPH, AMSF, ANAC, APB, APOG, ASMB, ATRA, AXTA, BAM, BCV, BERY, BLMT, BSET, CCK, CCO, CDXS, CEB, CHA, CHMT, CHU, CHXF, CIVI, CJJD, CMPR, CMT, COKE, CORT, CRI, CSII, CSU, CUDA, CYNO, DDS, DG, DL, DLX, DOOR, DST, DVCR, DXCM, DXGE, EEMA, EIG, EIGI, ELNK, ENDP, ERI, ESRX, FBR, FCHI, FDP, FDS, FICO, FIG, FLEX, FONE, FPXI, FRPT, FSRV, FWP, GIII, GLOB, GRX, HILL, HLT, HMN, HNI, HRC, HZNP, ICLN, IMKTA, INFN, INTL, INUV, IOT, IPKW, IPXL, ISCA, JBL, JD, JFC, JTPY, LAD, LAMR, LBY, LCI, LFC, LGND, MCO, MHO, MMS, MNTA, MTN, MVNR, MYL, NLNK, NLS, NOAH, NVGN, OEC, OLED, ORLY, PARR, PBH, PF, PNK, PNQI, PRFT, PROV, PRTO, PSCD, PTCT, QLIK, QLYS, QQQC, RDI, RGA, SABR, SHI, SHOO, SHW, SIMO, SKX, SMI, SNE, SNPS, SPNS, SPR, ST, STE, STZ, SUNE, TAP, TERP, TEVA, TLMR, TRIL, TRK, UA, UMH, UTHR, UVE, VIPS, VLGEA, VLRS, VLTC, VRSN, VRX, WBA, XL, ZBRA, ZNH
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AAU, APOL, CHEK, DXM, EAC, GULTU, HST, ICLD, IEC, IMUC, IRG, KCAP, MFV, MSM, MXPT, NSPH, PESI, PRKR, RTK, SHG, SONS, STRM, SVLC, SYPR, TKC, TRGT, TRIV, TST, UPLD, VPCO, VRS, WHLR, WRN
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: CUT, EWH, FXI, GXC, HAO, ITA, PIN, TAN, TAO
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: UNG, VXX
8:32 am Apple confirms Apple Watch will be available for preview and pre-order on Friday, April 10 (AAPL) :
Customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US will be able to pre-order the new device.
AAPL says 'We expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch."
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