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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm Universal Display misses by $0.13, misses on revs; guides FY16 revs below consensus (OLED) :

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.52; revenues rose 10.9% year/year to $62.3 mln vs the $71.59 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees FY16 revs of +10-20% to ~$210.1-229.3 mln vs. $245.82 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
"We believe that 2016 is poised to be a year in which the OLED industry builds meaningful new capacity for the continued proliferation of OLEDs in the marketplace. This groundwork is paving the foundation for the next wave of expansion in OLED mass production, which we believe is set to commence in 2017."

4:42 pm JA Solar expects Q4 revenues in the range of RMB 4.4-4.6 bln, Capital IQ consensus RMB 3.947 bln (JASO) :

Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2015 is expected to be in the range of 16.4% to 17.4%.
Shipments for the fourth quarter of 2015 were expected to be in the range of 1.32 GW to 1.35 GW, exceeding the Company's previously provided shipment guidance of 1.1 GW to 1.2 GW. As anticipated, nearly all shipments were to external customers.

4:24 pm Ingram Micro misses by $0.03, misses on revs (IM) :

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.01 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.04; revenues fell 18.9% year/year to $11.31 bln vs the $12.36 bln Capital IQ Consensus.

4:15 pm : The major U.S. indices managed to end their session on a higher note as news from the oil patch helped lift the averages to their best levels of the day. Additionally, a stronger than expected reading in the durable goods report (+4.9%; Briefing.com consensus 2.5%), and strong sector leadership from financials contributed to today's sharp reversal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.3%) managed to climb 239 points off its morning low to end ahead of the S&P 500 (+1.1%) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (+0.9%). Meanwhile, the benchmark index was able to close above its 50-day simple moving average (1946.71).

Oil was pressured in the early going as mixed trade overseas and concerns over the persisting supply glut weighed on the commodity. The energy-component was able to mount a rally after Venezuela's oil minister Eulogio Del Pino announced that the country, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Qatar had settled on meeting in March to discuss their proposed production freeze. As a result, oil was able to rally 4.6% from where it was trading before the news ($31.63/bbl). WTI crude ended its day higher by 2.8% at $33.11/bbl.

The energy sector (+0.2%) was able to climb of its low (-1.9%), but found it difficult to move beyond its flat line. The main beneficiary of the move in oil was the the commodity-sensitive materials sector (+1.3%), which climbed the leaderboard to jockey financials (+1.4%). In the materials space large-cap constituents Dow Chemical (DOW 48.10, +0.91) and DuPont (DD 60.42, +1.40) rose to their best levels of the day in the ensuing rally. Elsewhere in the group, CF Industries (CF 33.16, +1.41) rallied 4.4% after it was disclosed that its CEO and Senior Vice President bought 33,000 shares valued at $1 million.

The financial group outperformed throughout the day, continuing yesterday's rebound. Morgan Stanley (MS 24.63, +0.92) showed relative strength as it climbed 3.9%. Meanwhile, LendingTree (TREE 85.50, +15.56) rocketed higher by 22.3% after the company reported a beat on top and bottom-line figures while issuing above-consensus guidance for Q1.

Aerospace and defense names capitalized on the strong durable orders report after it showed that non-defense aircraft and parts surged 54.2% in January. Additionally, orders for defense aircraft and parts increased 84.8% over that same period, following a 66.8% decline in December. To that point, Boeing (BA 116.82, 1.23) and Lockheed Martin (LMT 220.03, +3.40) gained 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively. Additionally, United Technologies (UTX 98.07, +4.46) climbed 4.8% today after an antitrust attorney for Honeywell (HON 104.19, +0.89) stated that a potential deal could meet antitrust requirements, given a set list of divestitures.

Meanwhile, the countercyclical sectors managed to outperform during the entirety of the session as the groups gained between 0.7% (telecom services) and 1.3% (health care).

The Treasury complex was forced off is high during the second-half rally but managed to maintain most of its advance. The yield on the 10-yr note ended its day lower by five basis points at 1.70%.

Today's rally was forged on trading volume that was a bit below recent averages with 930 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included weekly initial claims, Durable Orders for January, and the FHFA Housing Price Index for December.

Initial claims for the week ending February 20 increased 10,000 from the prior week to 272,000 (Briefing.com consensus 270,000).
Despite the increase, weekly claims remain in the lower half of the 250,000 to 300,000 range they have been in since July 2014. The four-week moving average dipped by 1,250 to 273,250. There were no special factors influencing the latest initial claims reading.
Continuing claims for the week ending February 13 decreased 19,000 to 2.253 million (Briefing.com consensus 2.268 mln). The four-week moving average for this series decreased 5,250 to 2.257 million.
Durable goods orders jumped 4.9% in January (Briefing.com consensus 2.0%) on the heels of an upwardly revised 4.6% decline (from -5.0%) in December. Excluding transportation, orders rose 1.8% (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%) after declining an upwardly revised 0.7% (from -1.0%) in December.
The January upturn followed on the back of month-over-month declines in both November and December. On a year-over-year basis, durable goods orders are up just 0.6%.
The durable goods orders data are notoriously volatile due to the influence of aircraft and defense spending. Both played a big part in driving the January turnaround. Orders for nondefense aircraft and parts surged 54.2% after a 29.1% decline in December while orders for defense aircraft and parts increased 84.8% following a 66.8% decline in December.
New order gains, however, were seen in a host of areas, including primary metals (+0.7%), fabricated metal products (+1.6%), and machinery (+6.9%).
The strength in January could simply be a rebound from a depressed base of order activity. We'll know more when the February report is released. For now, it can be seen as encouraging news, particularly since nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft -- a proxy for business spending -- increased 3.9%.
The one damper on things is that shipments of these goods, which factor into GDP computations, declined 0.4%.
The FHFA Housing Price Index for December rose 0.4% month-over-month after increasing a revised 0.6% (from 0.5%) in November.

Tomorrow's economic data will include the second estimate of Q4 GDP (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) and PCE Prices for January (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%), which will both cross the wires at 8:30 ET. Meanwhile, the final reading of the February Michigan Sentiment Index (Briefing.com consensus 91.0) will be released at 10:00 ET.

Russell 2000 -9.2% YTD
Nasdaq -8.5% YTD
S&P 500 -4.5% YTD
Dow Jones -4.2% YTD

DJ30 +212.30 NASDAQ +39.60 SP500 +21.90 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1764/1.512 bln/1109 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2277/925.1 mln/777

3:45 pm :

WTI oil futures gained some real steam today, rallying sharply above
Apr crude found some buyers around 11am ET around the $31 area and rallied to near $33.50/barrel within three hours
By the end of floor trading, Apr crude closed +2.8% at $33.11/barrel
In other energy, nat gas recovered some off its LoD, finishing -3.3% at $1.78/MMBtu
Apr gold slipped 20 cents to $1239.00/oz, while Mar silver lost 1% to end at $15.17/oz

The markets began the session with modest gains, and whipping action took all three indices lower within a matter of minutes. Action stayed choppy until midday when the indices enjoyed a notable upward trend. The three major US indices finished off the session on a positive trend as action was led higher by the Dow Jones Industrial Average which added 212.30 points (+1.29%) to 16697.29. The S&P 500 ended higher by 21.90 points (+1.13%) to 1951.70. Rounding out the bunch, the Nasdaq Composite was up 39.60 points (+0.87%) to 4582.21.

Market data today came in the form of Initial Claims which for the week ending February 20 increased 10,000 from the prior week to 272,000. Continuing Claims for the week ending February 13 declined 19,000 to 2.253 million, and durable goods orders jumped 4.9% in January on the heels of an upwardly revised 4.6% decline (from -5.0%) in December. The FHFA Housing Price Index for December rose 0.4% month-over-month after increasing a revised 0.6% (from 0.5%) in November.

Action in Technology (XLK 41.37, +0.51 +1.25%) was much the same, as early gains quickly turned to losses and markets rebounded into midday. Component Windstream (WIN 6.74, +0.13 +1.97%) was a notable outperformer today as the company reported Q4 results anf gave certain FY16 guidance. Other sectors closed the session XLF +1.39%, XLI +1.32%, XLB +1.29%, XLV +1.25%, XLP +1.13%, XLU +1.02%, XLY +1.00%, IYZ +0.73%, XLE +0.09% led by Financials, with Energy lagging yet still finishing in the green.

Software (IGV 93.49, +2.28 +2.50%) names were also strong today as component ANSYS (ANSS 84.22, -2.32 -2.68%) reported a mixed Q4, and authorized an increase to the share repurchase program to 5.0 million shares. Other IGV names which displayed strength included HUBS +6.02%, PFPT +5.74%, SNCR +5.68%, QLIK +5.51%, SPLK +5.33%, IMPV +4.62%, ADBE +3.91%, RHT +3.55%, ZNGA +3.38%, WDAY +3.16%, FICO +3.12%, NOW +3.06%.

Cloud computing (SKYY 27.57, +0.51 +1.88%) was also in the green today as cloud bellwether Salesforce.com (CRM 69.42, +6.90 +11.04%) reported an in-line Q4 and raised FY17 revenue guidance. Other SKYY names that enjoyed gains today included EQIX +4.23%, NFLX +3.19%, VMW +2.66%, SAP +2.59%, ATVI +1.92%, MSFT +1.44%, IBM +1.28%, CSCO +1.06%.

The S&P 500 Information Technology sector (682.10, +8.72 +1.29%) also dabbled a bit of both sides of break-even for the beginning part of the session, only to stick with an uptrend into midday. Component HP (HPQ 10.34, -0.48 +4.44%) was under pressure today following the company's Q1 report. Other components which finished the session in positive territory included EA +2.34%, ADI +2.28%, SNDK +2.26%, V +1.98%, ORCL +1.80%, FFIV +1.75%, INTC +1.47%, FIS +1.45%, XLNX +1.41%, ACN +1.37%, VRSN +1.36%, YHOO +1.32%.

Other notable news items among sector components:
Visa (V 73.27, +1.42 +1.98%) and China UnionPay signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Shanghai with both parties agreeing to collaborate on payments security, innovation and financial inclusion.

Cisco (CSCO 26.60, +0.28 +1.06%) and Ooredoo created a relationship to set Ooredoo's roadmap for Network Function Virtualization (NFV) deployments and to deliver Virtual Managed Services (VMS) to the Qatar market.

NetApp (NTAP 24.63, -0.36 -1.44%) announced that UK recruitment consultant Randstad has chosen NTAP to revamp its data storage infrastructure and ensure the reliability of its core business applications.

Elsewhere in the tech space:

Level 3's (LVLT 48.61, -0.05 -0.10%) CEO Jeff Storey to take medical leave of absence. He is expected to make full recovery and return on limited basis in about 2 months.
In addition to reporting quarterly results, Netease.com (NTES 136.23, -23.67 -14.80%) increased its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.5575 per share.

In addition to reporting quarterly results, ANSYS (ANSS 84.22, -2.32 -2.68%) announced its Board of Directors increased the authorized share repurchase program to 5.0 million shares.

Rocket Fuel (FUEL 3.43, +0.30 +9.58%) appointed Rex Jackson as CFO effective March 16.

Newtech (NEWT 9.50, -0.26 -2.66%) lowered their quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share from $0.40 per share. The company also reconfirmed their FY16 dividend forecast of $1.50 per share.

In reaction to quarterly results:

Salesforce.com (CRM) reported Q4 EPS of $0.19 on better than expected revenues which rose 25.3% year-over-year to $1.81 billion. CRM issued guidance for the Q1 period of EPS of $0.23-0.24 on revenues of $1.885-1.895 billion. CRM also issued in-line EPS guidance for the FY17 period, and raised revenue guidance for FY17 to $8.08-8.12 billion from the prior expectation of $8.00-8.10 billion.

Netease.com (NTES) reported worse than expected Q4 EPS of $2.52 on better than expected revenues which also rose 105.5% versus last year to $1.22 billion.

HP (HPQ) reported in-line Q1 EPS of $0.36 on better than expected revenues which fell 11.6% versus last year to $12.25 billion. HPQ also issued in-line Q2 EPS guidance of $0.35-0.40, and reaffirmed the FY16 EPS outlook of $1.59-1.69.

ANSYS (ANSS) reported better than expected Q4 EPS of $0.91 on worse than expected revenues of $252.01 million. ANSS also guided Q1 EPS and revenues worse than expected at $0.74-0.77 and $224-232 million, respectively. For the FY16 period, ANSS sees in-line EPS of $3.53-3.69 on worse than expected revenues of $0.995-1.03 billion.

Cablevision (CVC 32.45, +0.08 +0.25%) reported Q4 EPS of $0.12 on revenues of $1.63 billion.

AMC Networks (AMCX 66.32, -4.51 -6.37%) reported better than expected Q4 EPS of $1.23 on revenues which rose 11.4% versus last year to $678.95 million.

IMAX (IMAX 28.50, -3.65 -11.35%) reported worse than expected Q4 EPS of $0.39 on better than expected revenues which rose 16.5% year-over-year to $119.33 million.

Gogo (GOGO 10.20, -0.28 -2.67%) reported in-line Q4 EPS at a loss per share of $0.43 on revenues which were better than expected and rose 26.2% versus last year to $137.8 million. GOGO also guided FY16 revenues in-line at $575-595 million.

Companies scheduled to report quarterly results tonight/tomorrow morning: TWOU ALRM ADSK BIDU WIFI CVT EVC GSAT IMMR BLOX IM INOV INTU LYV MELI NCMI NTRI PANW PEGA RLOC SBAC SPLK STRZA OLED/GTN MEG SSP

Analyst actions:

CHTR was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan,
MSCC was upgraded to Top Pick from Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts,
KEYW was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Chardan Capital Mkts;
RATE was downgraded at Topeka Capital Mkts and RBC Capital Mkts,
CVG was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo,
DTLK was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Craig Hallum,
NTES was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Credit Agricole