From Briefing.com: The markets ended today's session with modest gains. The upside was led by the Nasdaq Composite, which added 42.79 points (+0.90%) on Wednesday to end 4791.15. The S&P 500 also showed strength, ending up 15.91 points (+0.80%) to 1995.83. Rounding out the bunch, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 122.10 points (+0.73%) today to end 16912.29. The markets traded most of the day in the green, except around 11:30 a.m. ET following weakness in reaction to a larger than expected crude oil inventory build.
In other market data, the consumer credit report for August showed an increase of $16.00 billion, whereas the prior month's credit growth was revised down to $18.90 billion from $19.10 billion. Also, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index surged 25.5% to follow last week's 6.7% decline.
Among notable Technology (XLK 41.11, +0.19 +0.46%) names, Windstream (WIN 6.44, +0.35) won the day with gains of 5.75% on no news. Also strong on the session, Frontier Communications (FTR 5.38, +0.26 +5.08%) posted notable gains, outperforming the broader market, also on no news.
Specifically, Semiconductors (SOX 631.32, +9.37 +1.51%) were strong on the session. The only notable update today came in the form of the approval of the merger between Altera (ALTR 50.67, +0.75 +1.50%) and Intel (INTC 32.31, +0.57 +1.80%). The deal, announced on June 1, was for an all-cash deal valuing the company at $16.7 billion. The per share price therefore would translate to $54 per share. The deal is expected to be accretive to INTC's non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow in the first year after the closing of the deal.
In other news, the S&P 500 Information Technology (690.22, +2.66 +0.39%) sector posted modest gains. The sector ended today with modest gains, as trading action followed the broader market lower about an hour into the day, but ticked higher and eked out slight gains. Notable name Adobe (ADBE 80.65, -4.50 -5.28%) ended the session lower by % after the company provided a three year growth plan at the company's Analyst Meeting last night. The targets were not taken well by the Street, and the stock showed pressure relative to broader market trading today.
Other notable news items among sector components:
Starbucks (SBUX 58.78, +0.09 +0.15%) named former Adobe (ADBE) SVP and Chief Information Officer as their new Chief Technology Officer effective Nov. 2.
Altera (ALTR) stockholders approved the pending merger with Intel (INTC).
HP (HPQ 28.01, +0.01 +0..04%) unveiled the details of Partner First and Partner Ready, the new partner programs for HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise respectively. Both Partner First and Partner Ready will build upon HP's industry-leading PartnerOne program to help partners of both new organizations capture and capitalize on opportunities through customer-oriented, solutions-led sales.
Elsewhere in the technology space:
Cyber-Ark Software (CYBR 52.86, +0.66 +1.26%) acquired Viewfinity for $30.5 million in cash. The company expects the deal to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS for 2016.
Neonode (NEON 2.26, -0.37 -14.07%) priced its underwritten public offering of 3.2 million shares of common stock at $1.90 per share.
ManTech (MANT 27.36, +0.96 +3.64%) was awarded a $250 million contract from the Department of Defense to provide cyber range services.
Electronics For Imaging (EFII 46.52, +1.10 +2.42%) acquired Corrugated Technologies, a provider of manufacturing execution software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
GigaMedia (GIGM 0.55, +0.09 +19.54%) entered into a mutual termination agreement with the shareholders of Strawberry Cosmetics, termination fee amounts to the sum of $2 million.
Cinedigm Digital Cinema (CIDM 0.55, -0.02 -3.53%) entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement and Release with Gaiam (GAIA).
AU Optronics (AUO 3.08, +0.04 +1.32%) announced Chairman Paul Peng will resign from his concurrent role as President and assume the position of CEO. Michael Tsai will then advance to President and COO. Current CFO, Andy Yang, will change his role to Chief Strategy Officer. Benjamin Tseng, AVP of Finance, will then take the vacant CFO role.
RADA Electronics (RADA 0.74, -0.04 -5.10%) received orders for various avionics systems worth $2.5 million. RADA Electronics (RADA) received a non-compliance notice regarding the $1 minimum bid price.
VASCO Data Security (VDSI 19.15, +0.17 +0.90%) to acquire Silanis Technology for $85 million in cash. The company expects the transaction to be accretive in 2017 on a non-GAAP basis.
LogMeIn (LOGM 70.66, +1.77 +2.57%) provided an update to the succession plan, under which retiring CEO Michael Simon has agreed to serve in an advisory role until Dec. 15, 2016.
Leidos (LDOS 44.80, +1.05 +2.40%) was awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency to provide enhanced solutions for IT requirements. Total value of said contract for all awardees of about $6 billion.
6D Global Technologies (SIXD 2.90, -0.01 -0.34%) disclosed the resignation of three directors. Shares have been halted by Nasdaq since 9/10).
Analyst actions:
LXK was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup;
PMCS was downgraded at Wedbush and Mizuho,
BIDU was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Daiwa Securities
4:22 pm EXFO reports Q4 EPS in-line, misses on rev; gudies Q1 EPS below with rev in-line; guides FY16 rev in-line; names Philippe Morin COO (EXFO) :
Q4 EPS $0.04 vs $0.04 Capital IQ Consensus; revs -2% to $56.6 mln vs $58.18 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Sees Q1 EPS $0.01-0.03 vs $0.05 Capital IQ Consensus; sees revs $55-660 mln vs $58.17 mln Capital IQ Consensus. For fiscal 2016, EXFO is targeting adjusted EBITDA of US$20 million which should be achieved at a revenue level of about US$230 mln vs. $233 mln consensus. "We strengthened our executive team with the appointment of Philippe Morin in a new role as COO to improve global sales execution and product strategy. His vast executive experience at Ciena and Nortel will be strong assets for EXFO as we strive to expand our end-to-end network performance and service visibility business." 4:10 pm : The stock market ended the Wednesday session on a higher note with the S&P 500 climbing 0.8% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%) settled a bit ahead despite showing relative weakness in the early going.
Overall, the midweek session was very quiet, but there was some volatility present in the market as stocks surrendered their opening gains going into the afternoon, but returned into the middle of their ranges by the closing bell. It is worth noting that the pullback from opening highs occurred after the S&P 500 made a brief appearance above its 50-day moving average (1,997), which also served as resistance during afternoon action.
Similar to yesterday, commodity-sensitive energy (+1.3%) and materials (+1.3%) paced the opening move higher, but both sectors surrendered a portion of their gains as the session wore on. The energy sector was up nearly 2.5% at the start, but retreated from its high as crude oil erased its intraday gain. The energy component settled lower by 1.5% at $47.81/bbl after sliding from its intraday high in reaction to the latest Energy Information Administration's inventory report, which showed a 3.07 million barrel build.
Staying on the cyclical side, the largest sector by weight-technology (+0.4%)-underperformed throughout the day, but was able to climb off its low into the close. Large sector components like Apple (AAPL 110.67, -0.64), Alphabet (GOOGL 670.00, -1.64), and Oracle (ORCL 37.66, -0.07) lost between 0.2% and 0.6% while high-beta chipmakers outperformed, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index higher by 1.5%.
The afternoon rebound in technology helped the Nasdaq overtake the S&P 500 while biotechnology also contributed to the late strength in the tech-heavy index. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 307.81, +5.90) climbed 2.0%, snapping its two-day skid, while the health care sector (+1.5%) settled in the lead.
Also of note, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.3%) struggled in the early going, but ended the day in the green despite an 18.8% plunge in the shares of Yum! Brands (YUM 67.70, -15.72) after the company reported disappointing results and guided below analyst expectations.
Unlike stocks, Treasuries spent the day in negative territory, ending the day with modest losses. Accordingly, the benchmark 10-yr yield rose three basis points to 2.07%.
Today's participation was well above average with more than 1.15 billion shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
Economic data included Consumer Credit and MBA Mortgage Index:
The consumer credit report for August showed an increase of $16.00 billion, which was lower than the Briefing.com consensus estimate of $19.50 billion
The prior month's credit growth was revised down to $18.90 billion from $19.10 billion
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index surged 25.5% to follow last week's 6.7% decline
Tomorrow, weekly Initial Claims will be reported at 8:30 ET (Briefing.com consensus 275,000) while the September FOMC Minutes will be released at 14:00 ET.
Nasdaq Composite +1.2% YTD
S&P 500 -3.1% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -5.1% YTD
Russell 2000 -4.3% YTD
DJ30 +122.10 NASDAQ +42.79 SP500 +15.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2222/1.95 bln/810 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2407/1.16 bln/678 3:35 pm :
WTI crude oil futures were running strong today until the weekly EIA storage data came out at 10:30am ET.
Front-month Nov crude oil ran as high as $49.59/barrel, but ended the day -1.4% at $47.85/barrel
In other energy, Nov natural gas closed unchanged at $2.47/MMBtu.
Both RBOB and heating oil finished lower
Metals gained some steam, but posted modest to decent gains
Dec silver ran +0.8% today to $16.07/oz, while Dec gold rose +0.2% at $1148.70/oz
Dec copper climbed one cent to $2.37/lb
12:06 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (61) outpacing new lows (37) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AIZ, BNCL, BOFI, BRSS, BWXT, CAM, CDW, COKE, COR, CORE, CSFL, ECL, EPAM, EQC, ESSA, FBC, FCN, FNFG, FOXF, GPN, HDB, HPY, HTBI, IM, IOSP, JCOM, JE, JKHY, JNPR, LGIH, LMT, MRGE, MSEX, NKSH, NVDA, OSIS, POOL, PPBI, PRK, PRMW, PULB, QTS, RAI, RKUS, RVSB, SNX, STZ, STZ.B, SYKE, TBK, TECD, TOWN, UCBA, UVE, VLRS, VSAT, VVI, WDFC, WHLM, WK, XUE
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AEGR, ARO, BSI, CCCR, CDZI, CNOB, COSI, EARS, GPRO, HGSH, IDSA, KKD, LITE, LNTH, MDVX, MGLN, NCQ, NNBR, NTRA, NUS, PCRX, PRGN, REDF, RMGN, SAAS, SLI, SMRT, TCS, TDOC, TDY, TNDM, TWER, VDTH, VSCP, WILC, WMGI, ZSAN
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: none
9:21 am General Electric launches Current, which will integrates its LED, Solar, Energy Storage and Electric Vehicle businesses (GE) : The co announced Current, powered by GE, an energy company that integrates GE's LED, Solar, Energy Storage and Electric Vehicle businesses with its industrial strength Predix platform to identify and deliver the most cost effective, efficient energy solutions required by customers today and in the future. Maryrose Sylvester, who as President and CEO at GE Lighting has led the transformation of one of the company's most iconic businesses, will lead the new enterprise. Current will begin with more than $1 billion of revenue
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