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From Briefing.com: It was a slow day for news overall, but a very busy day for news regarding Google (GOOG 672.93, +93.08, +16.1%), which soared 16.0% after its better-than-expected second quarter earnings report. That move added about $32 billion in market capitalization to the stock and had remnants of performance chasing by fund managers who distanced themselves over the last 52 weeks when GOOG shares hadn't done much of anything. Google A shares (GOOGL 699.62, +97.84), which carry voting status, jumped 16.3% and boosted their market capitalization by $28 billion.

Including Friday's gain, GOOG has risen 30% since its low on July 7 (i.e. just eight sessions ago).

Google made a huge difference for the broader market, evidenced by the fact that the S&P 500 eked out a 0.1% gain despite nine of its 10 sectors finishing with a loss. The lone winner of course was the S&P 500 information technology sector (+1.8%). That gain, however, belies an otherwise weak showing that saw 40 of the sector's 66 components lose ground on the day.

Facebook (FB 94.97, +4.12, +4.5%) rode Google's coattails, as did Yahoo! (YHOO 39.68, +0.77, +2.0%). Combined with a 0.9% gain in Apple (AAPL 129.62, +1.11, +0.9%), the sector had enough core strength to muscle its way to a nice gain that left it up 5.3% for the week and 5.2% year-to-date.

Notable news items from sector components included the following:

Adobe Systems (ADBE 82.10, -0.42, -0.5%): SEC filing showed Value Act Holdings L.P. sold 1,693,000 shares at $82.06-82.45 worth ~$139.2 mln

KLA-Tencor (KLAC 51.93, -0.65, -1.2%): Disclosed details from its July 14 analyst presentation, noting its sees Q4 bookings of $550-750 mln, revenue of $710-790 mln, and adjusted EPS of $0.78-1.02. Those ranges are all consistent with the guidance provided on June 26, 2015.

Xerox (XRX 10.82, +0.22, +2.0%): Announced changes in its Government Healthcare Solutions strategy resulting from review of future market opportunities Company said it will discontinue investment in and sales of the Xerox Integrated Eligibility System in order to concentrate more of its future software development efforts on the existing Health Enterprise implementations. As a result of the strategic change, Xerox will record a pre-tax non-cash software impairment charge of approximately $145 million (approximately $90 million after-tax or 8 cents per share) in its second-quarter 2015 results. It now expects second-quarter 2015 GAAP earnings from continuing operations of 9 to 11 cents per share, which is below the company's prior guidance. Excluding the impairment charge, adjusted earnings per share is expected to be in line with the company's prior guidance of 21 to 23 cents.

Analyst Action:

Google A (GOOGL 699.62, +97.84, +16.3%): target raised to $620 from $570 at Pivotal Research Group... Axiom Capital upgrades GOOGL to Buy from Hold and raises their tgt to $850 from $615... target raised to $750 from $600 at Rosenblatt

eBay (EBAY 66.29, +0.70, +1.1%): target raised to $70 from $65 at Mizuho... target raised to $62 from $57 at RBC Capital Mkts

Fairchild Semi (FCS 15.24, +0.17, +1.1%): upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at FBR Capital; tgt $20

Weekly Recap - Week ending 17-Jul-15The major averages finished an upbeat week on a mixed note with the Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%) posting a solid gain while the Dow (-0.2%) and S&P 500 (+0.1%) underperformed throughout the day. For the week, the Nasdaq spiked 4.3% while the Dow and S&P 500 climbed 1.8% and 2.4%, respectively.

Equity indices diverged at the start with the Nasdaq Composite receiving a boost from Google (GOOGL 699.62, +97.84) after the index heavyweight reported better than expected earnings. The stock soared 16.3% to a new record high, lifting the Nasdaq Composite to a fresh record close of its own (5,210.14). Furthermore, Google underpinned the technology sector (+1.8%) which was the only group that spent the entire day in positive territory.

Meanwhile, many other technology components struggled with high-beta chipmakers showing relative weakness throughout the day. The PHLX Semiconductor Index was down as much as 1.0%, but narrowed its loss to 0.2% by the close. For the week, the chipmaker index added 1.2% while the technology sector spiked 5.3%.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, consumer discretionary (-0.2%) and financials (-0.2%) lagged throughout the day, which kept the S&P 500 below its flat line into the afternoon. Similarly, the energy sector (-1.1%) spent the day behind other groups as crude oil marked a new low for the week ($50.16/bbl) before erasing its loss by the pit close to end at $50.88/bbl.

Staying on the growth-sensitive side, the industrial sector (unch) slipped behind the S&P 500 during afternoon action after several sector components reported earnings. Transport stocks outperformed with Kansas City Southern (KSU 98.60, +6.05) spiking 6.5% after reporting a one-cent beat while JB Hunt (JBHT 85.69, -0.10) shed 0.1% after reporting a two-cent miss. For its part, the broader Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 0.7% to extend its weekly advance to 1.1%.

Moving to large cap industrial components, General Electric (GE 27.24, +0.20) and Honeywell (HON 105.54, +1.97) registered respective gains of 0.7% and 1.9% after the former reported in-line results while the latter beat estimates; however, their strength could not offset losses among the likes of Boeing (BA 146.84, -1.65), Caterpillar (CAT 83.16, -0.60), and Deere (DE 96.96, -0.37).

Things did not look much better on the countercyclical side where the utilities sector lost 1.1% while consumer staples (-0.1%), health care (-0.2%), and telecom services (-0.3%) registered slimmer losses.

Treasuries held modest gains throughout the day, ending near the middle of their trading ranges with the 10-yr yield lower by a basis point at 2.34%.

Today's participation was ahead of average as options expiration led to increased activity with more than 850 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included CPI, Housing Starts/Building Permits, and Michigan Sentiment:

The CPI increased 0.3% in June after a 0.4% increase in May while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.3%
As expected, energy costs continued their upward move with prices rising 1.7% in June after a 4.3% increase in May
Gasoline prices made up the bulk of the increase, rising 3.4% in June after a 10.4% increase in May
Excluding food and energy, core CPI increased 0.2% in June after a 0.1% increase in May while the consensus expected an increase of 0.2%
Housing starts increased 9.8% in June from an upwardly revised 1.069 million (from 1.036 million) in May to 1.174 million while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 1.120 million
At first glance, the jump in starts looks impressive, but the entire increase came from the volatile multifamily construction sector
Multifamily construction increased 29.4% to 489,000 in June from 378,000 in May, which was the highest level since 501,000 units were started in April 1988
The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index declined to 93.3 in the preliminary July reading from 96.5 in June while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease to 96.1
Consumer sentiment typically follows trends in gasoline costs, stock market movements, employment, and media reports
In this case, dire economic reports about Greece and the eurozone and some volatility in the equity market likely offset recent improvements in gasoline prices and employment conditions

Investors will not receive any economic data on Monday or Tuesday.


Week in Review: Nasdaq Sets New Record High

The stock market began the trading week on an upbeat note with the S&P 500 registering the bulk of its 23-point gain shortly after the opening bell. The benchmark index padded that advance during the final hour, settling just below its 50-day moving average (2,100). Equity indices spiked at the start after lengthy weekend negotiations between Greek representatives and eurozone officials produced a framework for the third rescue package for Greece. The agreement, which includes EUR25 billion in bank recapitalization funds, was cheered by global equity markets with risk assets surging while outflows from the Treasury market weighed on the 10-yr note, sending its yield higher by three basis points to 2.43% after testing the 2.47% level in the early morning. All ten sectors ended in the green with five groups adding 1.0% or more. Heavily-weighted sectors fueled the advance with the technology sector (+1.6%) holding the lead throughout the session.

The major average registered their fourth consecutive advance on Tuesday with the S&P 500 climbing 0.5%. The benchmark index reclaimed its 50-day moving average (2,100) at the start of the session while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%) outperformed throughout the trading day. Equity indices began near their flat lines after overnight reports from Vienna revealed that P5+1 negotiators agreed to a nuclear deal with Iranian representatives. The news had little impact on the market, but crude oil was down about 2.0% overnight amid expectations that global oil supplies will increase once Iran begins selling its oil on the open market. However, an intraday rebound resulted in crude oil climbing 1.7% to $53.06/bbl. Accordingly, the energy sector (+0.8%) climbed alongside crude oil to end the day among the leaders, while only the health care sector (+1.0%) had a better showing. Biotechnology led the sector higher with iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 387.94, +8.79) spiking 2.3%, which contributed to the relative strength in the Nasdaq.

The key indices snapped their four-day win streak on Wednesday as the market slipped into the red during afternoon action. The S&P 500 shed 0.1% to narrow its weekly gain to 1.5%. Equities started the day near their flat lines, seeing little reaction to a busy overnight session that featured the release of China's Q2 GDP (+7.0% year-over-year; consensus 6.9%) and news that the Bank of Japan lowered its GDP forecast for the fiscal year to 1.7% from 2.0%. Stocks climbed out of the gate, but the S&P 500 could not extend too far above its flat line as most sectors displayed early losses; however, relative strength in financials (+0.8%), health care (+0.1%), and technology (+0.1%) kept the market in positive territory into the afternoon. The financial sector held the lead throughout the session thanks to support from three large components. Specifically, Bank of America (BAC 17.68, +0.55) PNC (PNC 98.32, +0.82), and U.S. Bancorp (USB 45.53, +1.65) gained between 0.8% and 3.8% after reporting earnings. Bank of America and PNC reported better than expected results while U.S. Bancorp's report was in-line with estimates.

The stock market finished Thursday on a higher note with the Nasdaq Composite (+1.2%) settling at a new record high. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (+0.8%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.4%) ended the day closer to their flat lines. Equity indices spiked at the start, responding to overnight strength in the futures market. Shortly after Wednesday's close, Intel (INTC 29.90, +0.21) and Netflix (NFLX 115.81, +17.68) reported better than expected results, which led to a surge in Nasdaq futures. Earnings notwithstanding, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures received a second boost after the Greek parliament voted 229-64-6 in favor of austerity measures that will allow bailout negotiations to continue with the country expected to receive EUR86 billion in rescue funds. Furthermore, the European Central Bank, which held a policy meeting on Thursday, raised the country's allowance to Emergency Liquidity Assistance by EUR900 million, which will pave the way for Greek banks to open as soon as Monday.
Index Started Week Ended Week Change % Change YTD %
DJIA 17760.41 18086.45 326.04 1.8 1.5
Nasdaq 4997.70 5210.14 212.44 4.3 10.0
S&P 500 2076.62 2126.64 50.02 2.4 3.3
Russell 2000 1252.02 1267.09 15.07 1.2 5.2

3:33 pm Earnings Preview for the week of July 20 - 24 (:SUMRX) : Of the companies reporting earnings for the week of July 20 - 24 some of the bigger names include:

Monday:
Pre Market - MS, HAL, GPC, SAH, LII, HAS, CALM, EXAS
After Hours - IBM, CNI, CCK, STLD, SANM, WERN, WWD, ZION, HXL, BRO

Tuesday:
Pre Market - VZ, UTX, INFY, NVS, LMT, TRV, SAP, MAN, BK, OMC, BHI, DOV, CP, HOG, ABG, PNR, FITB, RF, NVR, WSO, CFG, ATI, LXK, AMTN, WWW, EDU
After Hours - AAPL, MSFT, ACE, FTI, VMW, PKG, CMG, YHOO, HUBG, ISRG, ILMN, NAVI, GPRO, LLTC, KALU, HAWK, IBKR, IRBT

Wednesday:
Pre Market - BA, KO, EMC, WHR, AN, ABT, TMO, ITW, TEL, LAD, IPG, OC, STJ, APH, NTRS, PII, SLGN, BEAV, TUP, ARMH, JAKK, ANGI
After Hours - AXP, QCOM, TXN, AMP, WFT, DFS, NEM TSCO, URI, ESND, SNDK, FBHS, CCI, SFS, OII, VMI, PLXS, EFX, AWH, CAKE, FFIV, LOGI, DLB

Thursday:
Pre Market - WIT, GM, ABC, CMCSA, DOW, CAT, ABB, MMM, MCD, UNP, RTN, LUV, DHR, LLY, KMB, NUE, FCX, BMY, RCI, WM, GPI, VRX, RS, CELG, CAM, WCC, DGX, BSX, STM, R, DPS, DAN, FIS, SHPG, ADS, CMS, ALK, PHM, ORI, FAF, TROW, MJN, UA, NDAQ, DNKN,
After Hours - T, AMZN, FLEX, COF, SBUX, CBI, V, CB, RGA, PFG, SYK, RSG, TRN, CLS, FSL, JNPR, CA, LSTR, BCR, SWKS, SRCL, ETFC, TRIP, P, ATHN,

Friday:
Pre Market - AAL, JCI, ABBV, LEA, XRX, DTE, STT, BIIB, VFC, TEN, OCR, COL, SPG, ECA, MCO, VTR, AAN, WBC, NS, SAVE

1:42 pm OmniVision reconfirms July 23 for Special Meeting of Shareholders (OVTI) :

As previously disclosed, OmniVision is a party to a number of putative class action lawsuits related to the merger of Seagull Acquisition Corporation. On July 1, 2015, plaintiffs filed a motion seeking to enjoin the Merger until the defendants in the Litigation take certain purported corrective actions. Thereafter, OmniVision voluntarily postponed the previously announced special meeting of OmniVision stockholders in order to provide additional time for court resolution of that motion.
On July 16, 2105, the Court held a hearing on that motion. Following the hearing, the Court denied, in its entirety, plaintiffs' motion seeking to enjoin the Merger. As previously announced, the special meeting will be held on July 23, 2015.

12:12 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (270) outpacing new highs (157) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ABG, AFMD, ALGN, ALGT, AMAG, AMCX, AMED, AMRB, AMWD, AMZN, ANAC, ANSS, ASBI, ASC, ATRI, BBP, BKS, BNCN, BOFI, BOOT, BRKL, BRO, BT, BTO, BYD, C, CARA, CASY, CBM, CEB, CEMP, CHRS, COWN, CPRX, CSBK, CSGP, CSL, CUK, CYNI, DEPO, DOX, DST, DXCM, EEFT, EFOI, ELLI, ELNK, EURN, EVH, FB, FHN, FLL, FLML, FOLD, FSB, FV, GAIN, GD, GLOB, GMED, GOOG, GOOGL, GRX, GTN, GTN.A, GWRE, HAS, HPY, HQL, HRTG, HZNP, IBP, ILMN, IMGN, IMPV, INCR, INDB, INN, JBLU, LGND, LHCG, LION, LKQ, LPCN, LUX, M, MD, MDCO, MDXG, MIDD, MLM, MMAC, MTB, MTN, NAT, NCLH, NFLX, NJ, NNA, NVLS, OCFC, ONEQ, OPHT, OSIR, PANW, PBH, PEGA, PGR, PLAY, PMC, PNQI, PRTA, PRTO, PSCH, PSMT, PTLA, QABA, QGEN, QLIK, QQQ, QTWO, REGN, REPH, RH, RLI, RMTI, SBNY, SBSA, SCHW, SCOR, SERV, SGU, SNBC, SNFCA, SPSC, SRNE, SSNC, STFC, STI, STNG, STRZA, SUBK, SYF, TGLS, TITN, TMK, TQQQ, TSCO, TSRO, TYL, UFCS, UFPI, V, VONG, WIFI, XENT, XNCR

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AA, AAU, ABX, ACV, ADAT, AGI, AHC, AKS, AMD, AMID, ANDE, APA, AQXP, ARO, ARP, ASA, ASTI, ATW, AUY, AVP, AXAS, AXLL, BBEP, BCEI, BGR, BKH, BLT, BRS, BSM, BTE, BTG, BTU, BVN, BWP, CAFD, CBAY, CBK, CCJ, CEF, CEN, CENX, CEQP, CFX, CHCI, CIG, CKH, CKP, CLD, CLF, CLIR, CMLP, CNQ, CNX, COH, COP, CPG, CPST, CRDS, CRK, CTIB, CTR, CVE, CVX, CZZ, DAR, DCI, DCTH, DDD, DFRG, DNR, DO, DRQ, DSCO, DTLK, DXM, ECA, EGO, EGY, EMES, EMR, ENLK, ENOC, EOG, EOX, ERA, ERF, ESIO, ESV, EXTR, EXXI, EZPW, FCFS, FCO, FCX, FELP, FEN, FIF, FLR, FLS, FMO, FNV, FPL, FRD, FSM, FSYS, GDP, GG, GGB, GGG, GGN, GLF, GLPW, GMZ, GNRC, GNT, GORO, GROW, HABT, HCLP, HELI, HES, HGT, HLX, HMY, HOS, I, IDN, IO, IROQ, IRR, IRWD, JMF, JMLP, JOY, KB, KEM, KGC, KLIC, KMF, KNOP, KORS, KRO, KYE, LALT, LECO, LINE, LIQD, LNCO, LODE, LPL, LTRE, MARPS, MCEP, MCF, MHI, MIE, MNTX, MOD, MPO, MRO, MUR, MVO, MXC, NADL, NAV, NBL, NCQ, NDRO, NML, NOV, NRP, NSLP, NTG, NWPX, NYLD, OII, OIS, ONVI, ORIG, PAA, PAAS, PBT, PCH, PCRX, PEO, PERI, PGH, PGN, PJC, PKE, PKX, POWI, PPC, PQ, PSAU, PSCE, PSUN, PVA, PXD, PZG, QEP, RFP, RGDX, RKDA, RMT, RNWK, RXN, RYAM, SA, SAFM, SE, SEP, SGI, SGY, SHLD, SLW, SMM, SMT, SPAR, SPEX, SQQQ, SRF, SRV, SSN, SUN, SVLC, SVM, SWC, SWI, SWSH, SXC, SXCP, TAHO, TCK, TESO, TGD, TGP, THM, TIL, TKR, TOO, TROX, TTF, TUES, TYG, UNT, UNXL, UPL, URG, USAP, USDP, VCF, VET, VIA, VIAB, VNR, VTN, WES, WG, WGBS, WLFC, WPX, WTI, WY, X, XCO, XRA, YLCO, YUMA, ZAZA

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: FDN, IAI, IWF, IYF, OEF, QQQ, UYG, XBI, XLF, XLY

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: AMJ, DIG, FXC, GDX, GLD, IAU, IGE, IYE, PALL, PPLT, SIL, SLX, VXX, VXZ, XES, XME