From Briefing.com: Broader market moves took all three major indices higher at the close after bouncing around from red-to-green virtually the entire session. When it was all said and done, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with the most notable gains, adding 106.83 points (+0.62%) to 17372.04. The S&P 500 followed, higher by 9.71 points (+0.48%) at the close to 2022.08. The Nasdaq Composite rounded out the trio up 18.76 points (+0.38%) to 4952.23. An up and down session took the indexes lower by more than -1.0% at one point, only to stage a comeback on some choppy trading action as markets moved about 2% from bottom to top as the bell rang.
Essentially, the selling into midday was mirrored by the action in the oil markets. WTI Crude Oil Futures retreated into midday action, when they staged a comeback off multi-year lows to end the session in positive territory at $36.34/bbl, or +2.0%. This, when taken with the fact that futures dipped near the $34.60/bbl area in the overnight session tells the story as to why markets were weak at the open.
Among Technology (XLK 43.13, +0.33 +0.77%) names, action ended much like the broader market, as a flurry of buying at the close took the sector from red-to-green. Component Micron (MU 13.66, -0.38 -2.71%) traded near the bottom of the sector today as the company acquired the remaining interest in Inotera Memories of Taiwan. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to EPS. Other sectors closed the session XLP +0.99%, XLV +0.65%, XLE +0.53%, XLY +0.51%, XLU +0.50%, XLI +0.36%, XLF +0.21%, IYZ -0.39%, XLB -1.32%.
Solar (TAN 28.38, +1.69 +6.33%) names were strong today, as component SolarCity (SCTY 41.59, +4.55 +12.28%) announced its new corporate office in Utah has opened. Other names in the sector which outperformed today included TSL +11.62%, TERP +10.94%, SPWR +8.17%, ENPH +6.19%, SUNE +5.78%, FSLR +5.70%, SEDG +5.38%, CSIQ +5.03%, HQCL +4.60%, JKS +3.61%, VSLR +3.02%.
The S&P 500 Information Technology sector (724.24, +4.58 +0.64%) traded in-line with the broader market as trading only turned to positive territory in the final hour of the session. Blue chip names dictated trading on the session today, with names like FB +2.49%, ADBE +2.01%, MSFT +2.00%, GOOGL +1.62%, MA +1.55%, CSCO +1.26%, GOOG +1.20%, ORCL +1.18%, IBM +1.01%, V +1.00% finishing at the top of the heap, and STX -6.42%, WDC -4.36%, XRX -1.79%, RHT -1.39%, QCOM -1.33%, AVGO -1.32%, YHOO -0.97%, WU -0.77%, MSI -0.69%, AAPL -0.62% finishing with the worst losses.
Other notable news items among sector components:
VMware (VMW 57.25, -1.80 -3.05%) announced the resignation of Pamela Craig and Dennis Powell from the Board effective immediately. Also, elected Donald Carty as a member of the Board. The company also announced it will not be participating in the formation of the Virtustream Cloud Services Business previously announced by EMC and VMware on October 20, 2015.
Corning (GLW 18.07, -0.61 -3.27%) entered into a 25-year power purchase agreement for solar- generated electricity produced by Duke Energy Renewables.
Etihad Airways and Cognizant (CTSH 59.76, +1.46 +2.50%), a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, announced a strategic agreement to drive digital transformation across the airline and its equity partners. Under the three-year, multi-million dollar deal, Cognizant will help Etihad Airways define its digital strategy and customer service along a guest's travel journey across the group.
Qualcomm (QCOM 46.83, -0.63 -1.33%) disclosed bylaw amendments to implement proxy access commencing with the 2017 annual meeting of stockholders.
Applied Materials (AMAT 18.05, -0.27 -1.47%) disclosed bylaw amendment effective immediately including new Section for Proxy Access.
EMC (EMC 25.76, -0.15 -0.58%) announced the end to the 'go shop' period. The company announced no additional proposals were received.
Accenture (ACN 106.36, +1.06 +1.01%) has been selected to help Deppon Logistics Co design a new agile sales and operations organization that will benefit from advanced customer insights.
Micron (MU) acquired the remaining interest in Inotera Memories of Taiwan. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to EPS.MU announced it has entered into a memorandum of understanding to grant Nanya Technology an option to license Micron 1x and 1y DRAM technologies. This new license agreement is in addition to Micron's existing license agreement for 20 nanometer technology with Nanya.AT&T (T 33.60, +0.43 +1.30%) announced customers can get two of the most popular smartphones, including Samsung (SSNLF 1100, flat) Galaxy S6, for the price of one. The offer also applies to iPhone 6s (AAPL 112.48, -0.70 -0.62%).
Elsewhere in the technology space:
FXCM (FXCM 8.08, +2.78 +52.45%) reported certain updates in regard to the company's relationship with Leucadia and its stock repurchase program. The company confirms that discussions with Leucadia remain ongoing.
Advanced Semiconductor (ASX 5.18, -0.13 -2.45%) submitted an offer to acquire Siliconware Precision (SPIL 7.69, +0.54 +7.55%) for NT$275 per ADS share.
Atmel (ATML 8.72, +0.26 +3.07%) received an unsolicited proposal to be acquired $9.00 per share.Dialog Semi (DLGNF 37.15, flat) later acknowledged Atmel's receipt of an unsolicited acquisition proposal.
MagnaChip Semi (MX 4.22, -0.65 -13.35%) disclosed a class action settlement with payment by the company of $23.5 million.
Fairchild Semi (FCS 20.09, -0.56 -2.71%) determined that the unsolicited proposal received on December 7 for $21.70 per share in cash would not reasonably be expected to result in a 'Superior Proposal'.
FireEye (FEYE 20.55, -0.50 -2.38%) announced agreement with Ingram Micro (IM 30.67, -0.47 -1.51%) to market to sell and support FireEye security products throughout the U.S. and Canada. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Jason Inc. (JASN 3.10, -0.20 -6.06%) named Jeffry Quinn as CEO effective immediately.
Angie's List (ANGI 9.07, -0.31 -3.30%) promoted Darin Brown to Chief Technology Officer.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW 183.69, -1.34 -0.72%) appointed Naveen Zutshi as Chief Information Officer.
Trina Solar (TSL 10.66, +1.11 +11.68%) received a preliminary non-binding proposal to be acquired by CEO and Shanghai Xingsheng Equity Investment & Management for $11.60 per ADS.
HollySys (HOLI 21.99, +0.18 +0.83%) announced high-speed rail signaling contract win valued at $75.5 million. The delivery of the products are expected to be finished by June 2016.
Rudolph Tech (RTEC 14.18, -0.41 -2.81%) reported that a leading foundry in Asia has placed an order for over $15 million in multiple NSX 330 Systems.
Analyst actions:
HPE upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse,
CPSI upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey;
GPRO was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley,
DLGNF was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities
4:05 pm : The stock market began the trading week on a higher note, but not before showing some late morning volatility. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% after briefly dipping below the 2,000 mark while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) underperformed slightly.
Equity indices slumped out of the gate with cyclical sectors fueling the early weakness. That selling was congruent with a retreat in the oil market, but a reversal in crude futures helped halt the slide in equities. The stock market spent the afternoon near its flat line, rallying to a fresh high during the final 15 minutes of the session.
Crude oil was in focus throughout the day as the energy component probed the $34.60/bbl area in overnight action before rallying to end the day higher by 2.0% at $36.34/bbl. The late morning reversal underpinned the energy sector (+0.8%), which rebounded from last week's 6.6% dive.
The energy sector climbed into the green with relative ease, but the same could not be said for most of the remaining cyclical groups. The technology sector (+0.6%) was an exception as the top-weighted group climbed ahead of the broader market during the afternoon after showing relative weakness at the start. That early weakness could be traced back to the shares of Apple (AAPL 112.48, -0.70) as the tech giant struggled after Morgan Stanley lowered its iPhone sales forecast. Apple settled lower by 0.6% after being down more than 2.0% in the early going.
The uptick in the tech sector masked relative weakness among high-beta chipmakers. Accordingly, the PHLX Semiconductor Index settled lower by 0.7% with most of its components ending in the red.
Staying on the high-beta theme, transport stocks also struggled while biotechnology benefited from the late afternoon strength. The Dow Jones Transportation Average surrendered 0.5%, widening its December loss to 7.6%, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 320.84, +0.95) gained 0.3%.
On the corporate front, Jarden (JAH 54.09, +1.41) spiked 2.7% after agreeing to be acquired by Newell Rubbermaid (NWL 42.15, -3.13) for $60/share in cash and stock.
The oil-driven rebound off late morning lows masked continued weakness in the corporate bond space. High-yield remained weak with iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate ETF (HYG 78.83, -0.69) falling 0.9%, while investment grade debt also faced some pressure, evidenced by a 0.7% decline in iShares Investment Grade Corp Bond ETF (LQD 114.35, -0.85).
Treasuries retreated throughout the day, ending on their lows with the 10-yr yield rising ten basis points to 2.23%.
Today's participation was ahead of average as more than a billion shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Tomorrow, November CPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%) and December Empire Manufacturing Index (expected -5.9) will be reported at 8:30 ET while December NAHB Housing Market Index (consensus 63) will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.
Nasdaq Composite +4.6% YTD
S&P 500 -1.8% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -2.6% YTD
Russell 2000 -7.4% YTD
DJ30 +103.29 NASDAQ +18.76 SP500 +9.57 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1064/1.97 bln/1902 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 812/1.05 bln/2327
3:10 pm :
The dollar index trended higher overnight, but was unable to hold those gains (made against both Yen and Euro) as early/mid-AM extended selling pressure drove the index down to near 97.3. Resistance at that level was enough to allow a moderate rally to develop in afternoon trade, which saw the index climb back to near-flat going into commodity closes.
Precious metals traded down overnight, before seeing a modest tailwind throughout the session to close moderately lower. Sentiment ahead of Wednesday's FOMC rate hike decision drove both metals' trading today, with gold closing -1.2% to $1063.40/oz and silver finishing -1.4% to $13.70/oz.
Crude was pressed below the $35/barrel point in early trade on large volume amidst commentary from the Iranian Deputy Oil Minister- who indicated that supply agreements have been established for when sanctions get lifted in early January.
Commentary from Russian Acting Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov- which indicated the country is preparing for for further oil price declines in 2016- also put temporal pressure on prices.
As the session progress however, WTI reversed trend and lifted back above the flat-line- to a positive close of +2% to $36.34/barrel.
Natural gas traded in muted fashion at strong losses, as calls for increased warmer near-term US weather patterns drove the January contract to close -5% at $1.89/MMBtu
Copper closed the session -0.5% lower at $2.11/lb
4:15 pm F5 Networks appoints Chairman John McAdam as President and Chief Executive Officer (FFIV) :
Co announced that John McAdam, Chairman of the F5 Board of Directors, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. McAdam joined F5 in July 2000, and served as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer until his retirement in July 2015. In connection with this appointment, McAdam will remain a member of the F5 Board but will step down as Chairman in order to focus on his executive duties and actively lead the Company forward. Alan Higginson, who currently serves as F5's Lead Independent Director, has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board. All actions are effective immediately.
McAdam succeeds Manuel Rivelo who has resigned from his position of President and Chief Executive Officer, and as a member of the F5 Board of Directors, for matters regarding personal conduct unrelated to the operations or financials of the Company.
8:32 am Corning enters into a 25-year power purchase agreement for solar- generated electricity produced by Duke Energy Renewables. (GLW) : Corning will purchase 62.5% of the expected output of the facility, estimated tobe 120,300 megawatt hours per year, beginning in the first quarter of 2016. Thatamount of electricity is equivalent to the annual power used by approximately10,000 U.S. homes.The new solar farm being constructed by Duke Energy (DUK) Renewables is located in Conetoe, North Carolina, and will be the largest solar-generating facilitycompleted to date east of the Mississippi River.
7:31 am Fairchild Semi determines that the unsolicited proposal received on December 7 for $21.70/share in cash would not reasonably be expected to result in a 'Superior Proposal' (FCS) : Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS) announced that its board of directors, after conducting a review and considering the advice of its legal and financial advisors, has concluded that the unsolicited proposal received on December 7, 2015, to acquire Fairchild for $21.70/share in cash would not reasonably be expected to result in a "Superior Proposal" as defined in Fairchild's Agreement and Plan of Merger with ON Semiconductor Corporation (ON).
6:33 am Rudolph Tech reports that a leading foundry in Asia has placed an order for over $15 million in multiple NSX 330 Systems (RTEC) : The systems will be used for inspection of next-generation fan-out wafer level packaging products, including whole-wafer inspection and post-saw inspection. The systems will begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2015 with the majority shipping in the first quarter of 2016.
6:11 am Siliconware Precision: Advanced Semiconductor (ASX) submits an offer to acquire SPIL for NT$275/ADS share (SPIL) :
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASX) announced that its board of directors has approved and submitted a proposal to Siliconware Precision Industries to acquire all SPIL shares for cash. The terms and conditions of our Proposal are as follows:
Price: NT$55 per common share (or NT$275 per American depositary share). All directors and management of SPIL will be retained and their current compensation and benefits maintained. SPIL must terminate or cancel the Tsinghua Deal. Co stated: "We have asked that SPIL review our Proposal and send us a written response no later than December 21, 2015 to confirm whether SPIL is willing to discuss as soon as possible a 100% share exchange transaction in accordance with our Proposal."
6:06 am Atmel: Dialog Semi (DLGNF) acknowledges Atmel's receipt of an unsolicited acquisition proposal (ATML) :
Dialog Semiconductor (DLGNF) announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form F-4 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its previously announced proposed acquisition of Atmel. The registration statement contains a draft prospectus and proxy statement in connection with the proposed acquisition. The definitive versions of the prospectus and proxy statement will be filed publicly with the SEC and mailed to stockholders of Atmel prior to the time the Atmel shareholder meeting is scheduled.
Dialog also acknowledged Atmel's recent announcement of its receipt of an unsolicited proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Atmel common stock. Atmel's board of directors has determined to engage in discussions with the potential acquirer, consistent with its rights under the Dialog merger agreement. Atmel's board of directors has not determined whether the proposal constitutes a "Company Superior Proposal" under the terms of the Dialog merger agreement, and the Dialog merger agreement remains in full effect and Atmel's board of directors continues to recommend the Dialog transaction to its stockholders.
5:50 am Trina Solar receives preliminary non-binding proposal to be acquired by CEO and Shanghai Xingsheng Equity Investment & Management for $11.60 per ADS (TSL) :
Co received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter from Jifan Gao (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company) and Shanghai Xingsheng Equity Investment & Management to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company not owned by the Buyer Group, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs, for $0.232 in cash per ordinary share, or $11.60 in cash per ADS
Represents a premium of approximately 21.5% above the closing price of the Company's ADSs on December 11The Board has formed a special committee consisting of two independent directors, Messrs. Sean Shao and Qian Zhao, to consider the proposal
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