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From Briefing.com: 4:14 pm Lam Research beats by $0.08, reports revs in-line; mid-point of JunQ EPS and revenue guidance is above consensus (LRCX) :

Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $1.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.10; revenues fell 5.7% year/year to $1.31 bln vs the $1.31 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues guidance for Q4 (Jun), sees EPS of $1.53-1.73, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.54 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $1.45-1.60 bln vs. $1.49 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Co reports MarQ non-GAAP gross margin of 45.1% and non-GAAP operating margin of 18.4%.
Note: co previously announced in October 2015 it will acquire KLA-Tencor (KLAC). Deal has not closed yet. KLAC will report earnings on April 26 after the close.

4:13 pm Polycom reports EPS in-line, misses on revs (PLCM) :

Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.19; revenues fell 12.3% year/year to $290.08 mln vs the $301.4 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Announced merger agreement with Mitel (MITL) on 4/15

4:11 pm Qualcomm beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (QCOM) :

Reports Q2 (Mar) non-GAAP earnings of $1.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.96; revenues fell 19.5% year/year to $5.55 bln vs the $5.33 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.90-1.00 vs. $1.00 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $5.2-6.0 bln vs. $5.51 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:11 pm F5 Networks beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs below consensus; adds $1 bln to buyback (FFIV) :

Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $1.68 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.63; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $483.7 mln vs the $486.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $1.77-1.80, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.74 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $490-500 mln vs. $502.72 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Board of directors had authorized an additional $1 billion for the company's common stock share repurchase program. This new authorization is incremental to the $73.8 million currently unused in the existing program which was initially authorized in October 2010.
"Given the backdrop of a continued difficult macro and spending environment, I was pleased with our execution, as we delivered revenue within our guided range while maintaining solid profitability." said John McAdam, F5 President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, sales of our Better/Best software bundles, Virtual Editions, and Silverline subscription services all grew during the quarter as customers continued to embrace hybrid strategies and venture into public and private clouds."

4:09 pm Mellanox Tech beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs below consensus (MLNX) :

Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.81 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.75; revenues rose 34.2% year/year to $196.8 mln vs the $192.52 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $210-215 mln vs. $216.22 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:07 pm Plexus beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (PLXS) :

Reports Q2 (Mar) adj earnings of $0.55 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.51; revenues fell 5.0% year/year to $618.7 mln vs the $614.97 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.73-0.81, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.67 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $640-670 mln vs. $648.76 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
ROIC for the fiscal second quarter of 2016 was 11.6%. The Company defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized operating profit, before special items, divided by average invested capital over a three-quarter period for the second quarter. Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt, less cash and cash equivalents.

4:03 pm Qualcomm signs 3G/4G Chinese patent license agreement with Hisense, resolves arbitration dispute over licensing terms, reporting earnings tonight (QCOM) :

Under the terms of the patent agreement, Qualcomm has granted Hisense a royalty-bearing patent license to develop, manufacture and sell 3G WCDMA and CDMA2000 (including EV-DO) and 4G LTE terminals for use in China. The royalties payable by Hisense are consistent with the terms of the rectification plan submitted by Qualcomm to China's National Development and Reform Commission
Co also announces that the companies have resolved through good faith negotiations an arbitration dispute over certain terms in their license agreement under Qualcomm's portfolio of patents covering 3G WCDMA and CDMA2000 and 4G LTE wireless technologies as well as numerous other technologies implemented in wireless devices. Under this resolution, LGE will continue to benefit from access to Qualcomm's portfolio of patented technologies that enable LGE to deliver devices to its customers globally

4:03 pm Plexus CEO Dean Foate to retire at end of fiscal 16; COO Todd Kelsey will become CEO on October 2 (PLXS) : Foate will continue with Plexus as an Executive Chairman until September 30, 2017, at which time the Board intends to appoint him non-executive Chairman of the Board.

4:15 pm : The stock market ended the Wednesday affair on a slightly higher note as the major averages rallied in lockstep with crude oil. Other factors impacting today's gain included a slew of quarterly earnings reports and key sector leadership from financials (+0.9%), health care (+0.6%), and technology (+0.2%). The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2%) finished in-line with the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) and ahead of the S&P 500 (+0.1%).

Today's session began on a choppy note as oil ticked lower following the American Petroleum Institute's latest stockpile data. Additionally, investor sentiment was briefly dampened as participants ruminated over commentary out of China, which cast some doubts on future easing measures from the People's Bank of China.

The major averages were able to shake the early weakness after the Department of Energy's weekly inventory report showed a smaller than expected crude oil build (2.08 million barrels; consensus 2.40 million barrels). Furthermore, speculation grew throughout the day that OPEC and non-OPEC members might be planning another meeting to vote on a proposed supply cut agreement. However, Russian Energy minister Alexander Novak denied plans for a May meeting. Nevertheless, WTI crude ended its day at a new 2016 closing high ($44.15/bbl; +4.3%).

As a result of the rally in crude oil, the benchmark index managed to break out above yesterday's high (2104.05) before notching a new intraday high for 2016 (2111.05). However, the broader market pulled back in the final hour of trade as investors looked ahead to tomorrow's policy statement from the European Central Bank and subsequent remarks from ECB President Draghi. Five sectors ended the day above their flat lines as financials (+0.9%), energy (0.8%), health care (+0.6%), and technology (+0.2%) topped the leaderboard.

In the economically-sensitive financial sector (+0.9%), consumer finance names outperformed after Discover Financial Services (DFS 56.84, +4.29) reported above-consensus results for the first quarter. Elsewhere, investment brokerages displayed relative strength as Morgan Stanley (MS 27.41, +0.95) gained 3.6%. The broader sector has extended its April gain to 4.5%, but remains down 1.3% on a year to date basis.

The energy space (+0.8%) helped lead the final hour pullback, trimming a 1.6% gain. Independent oil and gas names pared larger upticks as ConocoPhillips (COP47.08, +0.02) and Anadarko Petroleum (APC 50.66, +0.13) surrendered respective gains of 1.3% and 2.2%. The two names ended their day narrowly above their flat lines. For its part, the energy sector has gained 7.2% in April.

Medical equipment names outperformed in the health care space (+0.6%) after St. Jude Medical (STJ 60.94, +2.34) topped earnings estimates in the first quarter. The company also increased its full-year earnings guidance above consensus. Biotechnology underperformed today after Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN 399.75, -14.03) was downgraded from "Outperform" to "Market Perform" at Wells Fargo.

In the technology space (+0.2%), Yahoo! (YHOO 37.84, +1.51) gained 4.2% after beating bottom-line estimates in the first quarter, but lowering its second quarter revenue estimates below consensus. The company also voiced its commitment to pursuing strategic options. Elsewhere, Intel (INTC 32.00, +0.40) recovered from early weakness as investors looked to above-consensus bottom-line results in the first quarter and restructuring plans.

The Treasury complex ended its day off its session low as the yield on the 10-yr note rose six basis point to 1.85%.

The U.S. Dollar Index (94.55, +0.57) finished its day at its high as the yen and euro lost ground to the greenback. The euro/dollar pair finished at 1.1298 (-0.5%) while the dollar gained 0.6% against the yen (109.80).

Today's participation was above the recent average as more than 961 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Today's economic data was limited to the MBA Mortgage Index and March Existing Home Sales:

The weekly MBA Mortgage Index showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 1.3%.
Existing home sales in March increased 5.1% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million units (Briefing.com consensus 5.30 million).
February sales were revised slightly lower to 5.07 million (from 5.08 million).
The March increase featured an uptick in sales in all regions. The Northeast led the way with an 11.1% gain, followed by the Midwest (+9.8%), the South (+2.7%), and the West (+1.8%).
While the West enjoyed a month-over-month increase, it was the only region that saw existing home sales decline on a year-over-year basis (-2.5%).
The median home price increased 5.7% year-over-year to $222,700, which is the 49th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
Those rising prices, along with limited inventory at the low end, have impeded buying opportunities for first-time buyers, whose share of existing home purchases in March held steady at 30% (the average for all of 2015).
It was also said in today's release that limited inventory and affordability pressures were also leading to softer sales at the very high end of the market.
At the March sales pace, the inventory of homes for sale stood at just 4.5 months, up from 4.4 months in February but still well below the 6.0-month supply typically seen during normal periods of buying and selling.
Another sign of the inventory constraint, and the competition to buy an existing home, is that properties listed for sale typically stayed on the market for 47 days in March, matching the lowest time on the market since August 2015. The typical time on the market stood at 59 days in February and 52 days in March 2015.
Distressed sales fell to 8% in March from 10% last month and the same period a year ago.

Tomorrow's economic data will include the the 8:30 ET release of weekly initial claims (Briefing.com consensus 263k) and the Philadelphia Fed Survey for April (Briefing.com consensus 9.9). Meanwhile, the FHFA Housing Price Index for February and March Leading Indicators (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) will cross the wires at 9:00 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.

Dow Jones +3.9% YTD
S&P 500 +2.9% YTD
Russell 2000 +0.6% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -1.2% YTD

DJ30 +42.67 NASDAQ +7.80 SP500 +1.60 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1558/1.622 bln/1259 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1704/961.5 mln/1289

3:30 pm :

The dollar index rallies in afternoon pit trading, up +0.6% around the 94.51 level
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are up +1.8% at 84.18
Crude oil trends upwards to close near its high of the day after a notable morning surge & after the release of EIA petroleum storage data
June crude oil futures rose $1.81 (+4.3%) to $44.15/barrel
The 3-day Kuwaiti worker strike has come to an end, initially weighing on oil prices in morning pit trading
API inventory data released yesterday showed a build of +3.1 mln barrels compared to expectations for a build of +1.6 mln barrels, also appearing to initially weigh on oil in the morning but failing to keep oil down in afternoon pit trading
EIA crude oil inventory data showed a build of +2.08 mln compared to estimates for a build of +2.05 mln, oil initially rallied after this news was released
Natural gas falls in afternoon pit trading, consolidating and closing near its low of the day
May Natural Gas closed $0.02 lower (-1.0%) at $2.07/MMBtu
EIA natural gas inventory data is scheduled to be released tomorrow at 10:30 am ET
In precious metals, gold trends lower but still manages to close in the green
June gold ended today's session up $0.20 to $1254.40/oz
Silver trades sideways in afternoon pit trading after staging a modest morning rally
May silver closed today's session $0.18 higher (+1.1%) at $17.15/oz
Silver extends yesterday's gains of +4.4% as the gold:silver ratio narrows, traders/investors placing bets on the narrowing of the gold:silver ratio is a contributing factor to the notable recent gains seen in silver futures
Base metal copper edges higher in afternoon pit trading
May copper closed $0.02 higher (+0.9%) at $2.24/lb

12:15 pm SolarCity (+10%) leading solar stocks higher after San Francisco Board of Supervisors passes legislation to require solar panels on new residential and commercial buildings (SCTY) :
Sentor Wiener's release.
Solar stocks: SCTY +10.45% YGE +4.82% CSIQ +4.68% SPWR +3.86% JKS +3.29% JASO +3.18% FSLR +2.91% TSL +2.15% TAN +1.86%... RUN +0.6%, VSLR -0.6%, SUNE +17%

11:30 am Benchmark Electronics: Engaged Capital issues letter to shareholders (BHE) :

Engaged Capital, a 4.9% shareholder of Benchmark Electronics, announced that it has issued a third letter to BHE shareholders in connection with its campaign to elect three highly-qualified directors at the Company's upcoming May 11, 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Additionally, Engaged has issued a second presentation highlighting flaws in the Company's presentation to investors. Highlights:

'BHE Continues to Use Misleading Metrics and Performance Periods in an Attempt to Cover Up a Long History of Underperformance.'
'Engaged Capital Details the Significant and Relevant EMS Experience of its Highly-Qualified Nominees.'
'Engaged Capital Releases Second Presentation Highlighting Flaws in Benchmark's Presentation to Shareholders.'
'Vote the BLUE Engaged Capital Proxy Card today to Elect Robert K. Gifford, Jeffrey S. McCreary, and Brendan B. Springstubb.'

Microsemi (MSCC) & Avnet (AVT) announce Microsemi has launched a master distributor program with Avnet USI, part of the co's defense/aerospace specialty distribution biz; Avnet USI will sell products exclusively to other distributors

6:57 am EMC misses by $0.02, misses on revs -- merging with Dell (EMC) :

Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.33; revenues fell 2.5% year/year to $5.47 bln vs the $5.64 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
EMC Information Infrastructure business first-quarter revenue was down 6% year over year (down 4% on a constant currency basis2). In the first quarter EMC significantly expanded its all-flash storage portfolio with the introduction of VMAX All Flash and the DSSD Rack-Scale Flash solution. EMC also introduced a new Hyper-Converged VCE VxRail Appliance family in the first quarter, complemented by reseller agreements with Dell.
"Looking forward, the upcoming merger with Dell and the broader technology and solutions portfolio of the combined company will enable us to become an even more strategic partner for our customers and partners."

4:05 am ASML beats by EUR0.04, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus (ASML) :

Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of EUR0.46 per share, EUR0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of EUR0.42; revenues fell 19.2% year/year to EUR1.33 bln vs the EUR1.32 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
Reports Q1 gross margin of 42.6% (in-line with guidance)
Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of ~EUR1.7 bln vs. EUR1.66 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate
Sees Q2 gross margin of around 42%

3:48 am ARM Holdings reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides FY16 revs in-line (ARMH) :
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of GBP0.08 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of GBP0.08; revenues rose 21.5% year/year to GBP276.4 mln vs the GBP272.71 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Growth in adoption of ARM processor technology - 39 processor licenses signed by a broad range of companies, including leading semiconductor vendors and OEMs
Target applications included mobile computing, automotive, networking infrastructure and servers
4.1 billion ARM-based chips shipped, up 10% year-on-year
Continuing growth in chips for networking infrastructure, up 10% year-on-year

Outlook

Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees FY16 Group dollar revenues in-line with $1.63 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Commentary: "...We expect that ARMv8-A technology will continue to penetrate in mobile and enterprise markets, and the higher royalty rate earned on these products will underpin future royalty revenues. Macroeconomic uncertainty remains, and could influence consumer and enterprise spending in 2016, potentially impacting semiconductor sales and industry confidence. Based on current conditions in the semiconductor industry, we expect Group dollar revenues for the full year to be in line with market expectations..."

When Wednesday trading was done, action was higher despite an afternoon sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 42.67 points (+0.24%) to 18096.27. The Nasdaq Composite added 7.80 points (+0.16%) to 4948.13. The S&P 500 was higher by 1.60 points (+0.08%) to 2102.40 when the day was finished. Action was aided by a rebound in June crude oil futures (+4.3%), and by extension a less than expected increase from the Department of Energy's weekly stockpile report, which showed crude inventories up 2.08 million barrels. Additionally, strong earnings out of tech name Yahoo! (YHOO 37.84, +1.51 +4.16%) helped bolster the tech sector near the head of the pack today in terms of percentage gaining sectors.

Market data today included the weekly MBA Mortgage Index which showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 1.1%. Existing home sales in March increased 5.1% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million units. The median home price increased 5.7% versus last year to $222,700.

Technology (XLK 44.37, +0.06 +0.14%) trading was in the green for most of the session. Component VMware (VMW 58.52, +7.06 +13.72%) also posted a strong period, with Q1 EPS coming in ahead of expectations. Other sectors as measures by the S&P closed today XLE +0.90%, XLF +0.77%, XLV +0.54%, XLY +0.13%, IYZ +0.00%, XLI -0.16%, XLB -0.30%, XLP -1.13%, XLU -2.50% with Energy pushing the markets higher.

In the S&P 500 Information Technology (7.7.58, +1.59 +0.22%) sector, Wednesday ended above flat lines. Component Intel (INTC 32.00, +0.40 +1.27%) came out with a strong Q1 print, pushing the stock higher as EPS and revenues for the period came in ahead of expectations; additionally, the company announced restructuring efforts which include the reduction of about 11% of the global workforce, and announced a CFO transition plan. Other names in the space which displayed relative strength included WDC +4.74%, YHOO +4.16%, LLTC +3.95%, EMC +3.21%, ADS +2.98%, MCHP +2.21%, PYPL +2.14%, FSLR +1.98%, ADI +1.63%, QRVO +1.55%, TDC +1.51%.

Other notable news items in the sector:

In addition to reporting quarterly results, Intel (INTC) announced a CFO succession plan under which current CFO Smith would take on a new role leading the company's sales and operations and the company therefore has begun a search for a new CFO, with Smith remaining on in that capacity until a replacement is found. Additionally, INTC announced a restructuring plan through which the company plans to eliminate about 11% of its total workforce worldwide.
The European Commission sends 'Statement of Objections' to Alphabet's (GOOG 752.67, -1.26 -0.17%) Google on Android operating system and applications. Google later responded to the EU's 'Statement of Objections', saying it looks forward to working with it to demonstrate the 'careful way we've designed the Android model in a way that's good for competition and for consumers'.
Symantec (SYMC 18.07, -0.06 -0.33%) announced a partnership with Rockwell Automation (ROK 115.62, -0.51 -0.44%) to secure connected industrial systems from malicious attacks.
Fiserv (FISV 99.56, -1.18 -1.17%) announced an agreement with Cisco (CSCO 28.44, +0.11 +0.39%) to deliver communications solutions that help financial institutions enhance internal collaboration and drive customer engagement. The partnership enables integrated communications capabilities essential for financial institutions to execute their branch of the future strategies, including virtual interaction with remote experts and secure wireless access that supports a universal banker model.

Elsewhere in the tech space:

In addition to reporting quarterly results, VMware (VMW) announced the authorization of a share repurchase of up to $1.2 billion in 2016.
Lexmark (LXK 37.90, +3.24 +9.35%) to be acquired by consortium including Apex Technology for $40.50 per share.
Yelp (YELP 21.15, +0.37 +1.78%) named Charles Baker as CFO effective May 9.
Verizon's (VZ 51.75, -0.33 -0.63%) AOL to acquire RYOT Corp. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Alarm.com (ALRM 23.05, +0.32 +1.41%) announced CFO Jennifer Moyer will be leaving to accept CFO position at an early stage private company.

In reaction to quarterly results:

Intel (INTC) reported better than expected Q1 EPS of $0.54 on revenues which rose 8.0% versus last year to $13.8 billion. Also issued downside guidance for the Q2 period of revenues in the range of $13-14 billion. INTC also lowered its FY16 revenue growth guidance to mid-single digits from mid-to-high single digits.
EMC (EMC 26.37, +0.82 +3.21%) reported worse than expected Q1 EPS and revenues of $0.31 and $5.47 billion, respectively.
ASML (ASML 96.43, -3.32 -3.33%) reported better than expected Q1 EPS and revenues of EUR0.04 and EUR 1.33 billion, respectively. Additionally, the company guided Q2 revenues ahead of expectations at about EUR1.7 billion.
Yahoo! (YHOO) reported better than expected Q1 EPS and revenues of $0.08 and $859 million, respectively. Q1 Maven revenues were up 6% versus last year, gross search revenues were down 15% versus last year and the number of paid clicks declined 21% compared to last year. Also, Q1 price per ad was down 6% compared to last year.
VMware (VMW) reported better than expected Q1 EPS of $0.86 on in-line revenues which rose 5.2% versus last year to $1.59 billion.
ARM Holdings (ARMH 40.98, -0.94 -2.24%) reported in-line Q1 EPS of GBP0.08 on better than anticipated revenues of GBP276.4 million. Additionally, the company guided FY16 revenues in-line at GBP 1.63 billion.
Companies scheduled to report tonight/tomorrow morning: CTXS CLGX EFII FFIV LRCX MLNX PLXS PLCM PTC QCOM NOW/ADS BHE CLS DST ERIC FCS SILC SYNT UTEK VZ

Analyst actions:

VOD was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill; LXK was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Standpoint Research, INTC was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Northland Capital, AMTD was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays, ININ was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sidoti, KS was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Dundee, BT was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, AEIS was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill; VNTV and TSS were initiated with Buy ratings at Nomura, FDC was initiated with a Neutral at Nomura, GPN was initiated with a Reduce at Nomura, ORCL was initiated with an Outperform at Northland Capital, BATS was initiated with an Underperform at Raymond James