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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The S&P 500 (+1.4%) ended the Tuesday session above its 50-day simple moving average (2062) as stocks rallied in the wake of a positive reading of April New Home Sales (619,000; Briefing.com consensus 521,000). Other contributing factors for today's gain included support from the oil pit and the outperformance of the heavyweight technology (+2.1%), financial (+1.6%), and health care (+1.5%) spaces. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (+2.0%) finished ahead of both the S&P 500 (+1.4%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2%).

The major averages gapped up to begin the day as a positive bias in European markets helped boost U.S. equities at the open. Separately, the broader market found support from a reversal in oil as the energy component erased a 0.9% ($46.64/bbl) loss, ending the pit session higher by 1.1% ($48.65/bbl).

Equity indices climbed through the morning as positive quarterly results from Toll Brothers (TOL 29.46, +2.36) and an above-consensus reading of April New Home Sales helped extend the rally in the broader market. The positive housing reading can be added to the myriad of recent reports, which could lend themselves supportive to the Fed's argument to continue hiking interest rates. On that note, the fed funds futures market calculates the probability of an interest rate hike at the June meeting at 34.0%, compared to yesterday's 30.0% likelihood.

The benchmark index climbed to a fresh high in the final hour, ending above resistance at the 2073/2074 price level. All ten sectors finished in the green with heavily-weighted technology (+2.1%), financials (+1.5%), health care (+1.5%) and consumer discretionary (+1.3%) leading the advance.

The high-beta chipmakers outperformed in the technology space (+2.1%), evidenced by the 2.4% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. In the index, Xilinx (XLNX 47.45, +2.56) gained 5.7% as investors speculated that the name is an M&A target for Qualcomm (QCOM 55.59, +1.41). Elsewhere, Microsoft (MSFT 51.59, +1.56) jumped 3.1% after receiving an upgrade to "Outperform" at Cowen. The tech giant also received a positive mention in Barron's during the afternoon.

In the financial sector (+1.5%), asset management names and investment brokerages outperformed. Charles Schwab (SCHW 30.22, +0.94) ended the day higher by 3.2% while Affiliated Managers (AMG 170.66, +5.77) gained 3.5%. Conversely, rate sensitive real estate investment trusts ended behind the broader sector.

Biotechnology demonstrated relative strength in the health care space (+1.5%). The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 272.04, +6.01) gained 2.3% today, erasing its May loss. On the flipside, Anthem (ANTM 128.48, -4.70) lost 3.5% after being downgraded to "Neutral" from "Buy" at Sterne Agee CRT. CIGNA (CI 124.81, -1.34) fell 1.1% on headwinds to the company's proposed merger with Anthem. For the month, Anthem and CIGNA have lost 8.7% and 9.9%, respectively.

In the consumer discretionary space (+1.3%), Netflix (NFLX 97.89, +3.00) gained 3.2% after Stifel provided bullish commentary on the name. The firm cited a new timeline for film releases and the company's output deal with Disney (DIS 99.51, +0.33).

The U.S. Dollar Index (95.60, +0.37) finished higher with the greenback gaining ground against the euro and the yen. The euro/dollar pair ended lower by 0.7% (1.1143) while the dollar gained 0.7% against the yen (109.98).

Treasuries retreated today as the yield on the 10-yr note rose three basis points to 1.86%.

Today's participation was below the recent average as fewer than 867 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Today's economic data was limited to the April New Home Sales Report:

New home sales surpassed estimates in April, running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 (Briefing.com consensus 521,000).
That represented a 16.6% increase from March, which saw an upward revision to 531,000 from a previously reported 511,000.
Not only did the April reading come in well ahead of expectations, but the upward revision to the March figure vaulted that reading past last month's Briefing.com consensus estimate, which stood at 521,000.
New home sales in April were up 22.8% versus the same month a year ago and today's report pointed to the best month of new home sales since January 2008.
Thanks to the pick-up in activity, the April rate was above the prior 3-month average of 531,667.
Median sales price increased 9.7% year-over-year to $321,100.
At the current sales pace, the inventory of unsold new homes stands at a 4.7 months' supply, which is down from 5.8-months' supply in March and below the 6.0-months' supply that is typically associated with normal periods of buying selling.

Tomorrow's economic data will include the 7:00 ET release of the weekly MBA Mortgage Index. The day's data will be capped off with the advance reading of the April International Trade in Goods and the March FHFA Housing Price Index, which will cross the wires at 8:30 ET and 9:00 ET, respectively. DJ30 +213.12 NASDAQ +95.27 SP500 +28.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 8832/1.77 bln/608 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2325/866.8 mln/703

3:30 pm :

The dollar index gains momentum, currently up +0.4% around the 95.62 level, weighing on commodities
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are down -0.2% at 84.17
Crude oil trends higher ahead of today's scheduled API inventory data
July crude oil futures rose $0.53 (+1.1%) to $48.65/barrel
Reminders:
Demand for gasoline is high as memorial day weekend approaches
Steady U.S. oil production drop, just under 8.8 mln barrels a day
The next OPEC meeting is scheduled to take place on June 2, 2016
API petroleum inventory data is scheduled to be released today after the bell
EIA petroleum inventory data is scheduled to be released at 10:30 am ET tomorrow
Natural gas extends last session's losses, closing near early morning lows of the day
July natural gas closed $0.05 lower (-2.3%) at $2.15/MMBtu
Natural gas futures have switched their front months to July, as indicated by the active amount of volume in the contracts
EIA natural gas inventory data is scheduled to be released Thursday at 10:30 am ET
In precious metals, gold finishes at a fresh low of the day as the dollar broke out to new highs of the day
June gold ended today's session down $22.50 (-1.8%) to $1228.80/oz
Silver exhibited notable volatility, briefly trading in the green in early morning pit trading before reversing and closing near the lows of the day
July silver closed today's session $0.17 lower (-1.0%) at $16.25/oz
Base metal copper inches higher despite strength in the dollar index
July copper closed $0.01 higher (+0.5%) at $2.07/lb
July corn closed $0.02 lower (-0.5%) at $3.96/bushel
Corn futures are up 10% year-to-date
July wheat closed $0.02 higher (+0.4%) at $4.65/bushel
Wheat futures are 2.3% lower year-to-date
July soybeans closed $0.03 lower (-0.3%) at $10.54/bushel
Year-to-date, soybeans futures are up 21%
Late yesterday, the USDA released its weekly crop progress report:
In the corn belt yesterday, the USDA reported that showers and thunderstorms are spreading across the upper Midwest, closing a window of opportunity for soybean and late-season corn planting. Meanwhile in the eastern Corn Belt, warm, dry weather favors a gradual acceleration of planting as fields begin to dry out
The agency reported that U.S. farmers now have planted 86% of this year's corn crop, which compared to the 5-year average of 85%, but below last year's rate of 90%
Meanwhile, soybean planting progress is at 56%, which is higher than the 5-year average of 52% and in-line with this same week last year
Lastly, 95% of this year spring wheat crop is planted, well ahead of the 5-year average of 77% and in-line with this same week last year
This data was bearish for soybeans and wheat, but more neutral for corn prices

Today's session began on a higher note as U.S. futures moved up alongside European bourses. In Europe, May's ZEW Economic Sentiment readings for the eurozone and Germany disappointed and prompted speculation regarding potential monetary policy stimulus. Additionally, strength from the oil patch helped bolster equities as oil reversed off its low ($47.64/bbl). July Crude Oil Futures closed the day up 1.1%.

The markets were on a torrid pace for most of the session, with the three major US indices all ending barely off session highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the best performer today, ending an even 2.0% higher on a 95.27 uptick to end 4861.06. The S&P 500 was up 28.02 points (+1.37%) when the session was over to 2076.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up a modest 213.12 points (+1.22%) to 17706.05, but all joking aside, still had an impressive session albeit overshadowed by more aggressive gains elsewhere. Market data today included the new home sales reading, which for April showed a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000, a 16.6% increase versus March.

The Technology (XLK 43.49, +0.87 +2.07%) sector was no different, as gains held throughout the session. Component Xilinx (XLNX 47.45, +2.56 +5.70%) was the best performer on the heels of unconfirmed M&A chatter. Other sectors as measured by the S&P closed Tuesday XLF +1.51%, XLV +1.44%, XLY +1.20%, XLI +1.04%, XLU +1.00%, IYZ +0.98%, XLP +0.84%, XLB +0.66%, XLE +0.50% as Tech and Financials led and Energy finished with the most modest session.

In the S&P 500 Information Technology (721.45, +14.98 +2.12%) sector, Tuesday ended at highs as the sector returned to levels from late-April. Component Western Digital (WDC 42.28, +1.82 +4.50%) was a notable out-performer as the stock was upgraded premarket to an Outperform rating from Market Perform at Cowen. Other names in the sector that closed with solid gains included LLTC +3.25%, LRCX +3.19%, MU +3.14%, MSFT +3.12%, ADBE +3.12%, AMAT +3.03%, FSLR +2.90%, EA +2.88%, V +2.81%, AKAM +2.75%, INTC +2.75%.

Other notable news items among sector components:

eBay (EBAY 24.05, +0.59 +2.51%) announced an agreement to acquire Ticketbis. Ticketbis will become part of EBAY's StubHub business. EBAY expects the deal to close in mid-2016, and is not expected to impact the second quarter 2016 or the full year 2016 guidance. Financial terms of the deal were not provided either.

Tessera Tech (TSRA 31.79, +1.22 +3.99%) announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries filed legal proceedings for patent infringement in both domestic and international jurisdictions against Broadcom (AVGO 151.42, +3.32 +2.24%) and, in some cases, against certain of AVGO's customers and distributors.

Lam Research (LRCX 79.27, +2.45 +3.19%) announced the pricing of $800 million aggregate principal amount of its 2.800% Senior Notes due 2021, $600 million aggregate principal amount of 3.450% Senior Notes due 2023, and $1,000 million aggregate principal amount of 3.900% Senior Notes due 2026. LRCX intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes in this offering to finance, in part, the cash portion of the total consideration payable by LRCX to the KLA-Tencor (KLAC 70.99, +1.24 +1.78%) stockholders in connection with LRCX's acquisition of KLAC, and related fees and expenses, and to prepay KLA-Tencor's outstanding term loans.

Xilinx (XLNX) gained in afternoon trading on the heels of unconfirmed M&A chatter.

Elsewhere in the tech space:

GoPro (GPRO 9.71, +0.45 +4.86%) and Red Bull announced they are joining forces on a multi-year, global partnership that includes content production, distribution, cross-promotion and product innovation. As part of the agreement, Red Bull will receive equity in GoPro and GoPro will become Red Bull's exclusive provider of point-of-view imaging technology for capturing immersive footage of Red Bull's media productions and events.

Total (TOT 48.13, +0.53 +1.11%) and SunPower (SPWR 17.04, +0.46 +2.77%) announced that SPWR signed a power purchase agreement for the supply of 300 gigawatt hours per year of clean solar energy to Metro of Santiago.

KEYW Holding (KEYW 8.72, +0.06 +0.69%) announced the departure of the company's Chief Financial Officer and EVP Philip Calamia. Mr. Calamia is departing KEYW to pursue other opportunities. KEYW also announced the appointment of Michael Alber as CFO and EVP. His appointment is effective June 13, 2016.

Net Element (NETE 0.27, +0.00 +1.85%) announced that effective at 12:01 am, Eastern Time, on May 25, 2016, the company will effect a 1:10 reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock. The company's common stock will open for trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on May 25, 2016 on a post-split basis.

Synopsys (SNPS 51.18, +1.38 +2.77%) entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR) with JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, to repurchase $125 million of Synopsys stock. Under the terms of the ASR, SNPS will receive an initial share delivery of about 2.0 million shares, with the remainder to be settled on or before August 15, 2016, upon completion of the repurchase.

Globant (GLOB 38.35, -0.08 -0.21%) announced the acquisition of WAE (comprised of We are London Limited and We are Experience, Inc.), an innovative service design company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

GigPeak (GIG 2.90, +0.07 +2.47%) filed for an about 1.8 million common share offering by selling shareholders. The proposed max offering price was $2.575 per share.

Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH 28.40, -0.61 -2.10%) commenced a 13 million common stock offering by selling shareholder Carlyle (CG 16.51, +0.12 +0.73%).

Spherix (SPEX 3.04, +1.13 +59.16%) announced a second licensing agreement with RPX (RPXC 9.11, -0.06 -0.65%). Under the new agreement, SPEX received a cash payment and return of all of the Series H preferred stock of SPEX presently held by RPXC, representing the entire class of Series H shares outstanding. In exchange, SPEX granted RPXC a portfolio license, which RPXC can then use to grant sublicenses to its clients. In unrelated matters, SPEX's litigations against L3 Communications (LLL 138.34, +0.40 +0.29%), TW Telecommunications (TWTC), Fairpoint Communications (FRP 13.71, +0.17 +1.26%), and Uniden (UNNCF) will continue.

Rambus (RMBS 12.07, +0.33 +2.81%) announced that CFO Satish Rishi plans to retire in the first week of August, following the filing of the company's quarterly report for the second quarter of 2016. Rambus has commenced a search for his replacement and Mr. Rishi will assist during the succession process.

Polycom (PLCM 11.81, +0.72 +6.49%) received a revised, non-binding proposal from a private equity sponsor that was previously described as "Sponsor 1" in the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed by

Mitel Networks (MITL 6.71, +0.48 +7.70%). Polycom intends to engage in discussions or negotiations with Sponsor 1 with respect to the revised proposal. MITL later responded, stating "The transaction that was announced on April 15, which received the unanimous support of both Boards of Directors and commitments from large shareholders of both companies, offers superior and greater upside to both

Polycom and Mitel. Polycom shareholders specifically will own 60% of a $2.4B, highly profitable, low leverage, strong cash flow company with the scale and portfolio breadth to compete. The deal also offers certainty of committed financing in an uncertain and volatile debt market, and attractive synergy value. Mitel's acquisition of Polycom continues to be the best path forward and best strategic choice to create shareholder value, driven by attractive financial and operational scale."

Match Group (MTCH 14.04, -0.01 -0.07%) intends to commence an offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2024 in a private offering.

Scheduled to report quarterly results tonight:
CSC, HPE, INTU, NMBL, VSAT, VMEM

Analyst actions:

WDC was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen,
HOLI was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at Nomura;
TWTR was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at MoffettNathanson,
FLEX was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Standpoint Research;
SSYS was initiated with an Outperform at FBR Capital,
MTLS was initiated with a Mkt Perform at FBR Capital,
ACXM was initiated with a Buy at Dougherty & Co

(Disclosure: Briefing.com has a business relationship with Microsoft)

4:11 pm Hewlett Packard Enterprise reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q3/FY16, announces spinoff of Enterprise Services business with CSC, authorizes additional stock buyback (HPE) :

Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.42 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $12.71 bln vs the $12.34 bln Capital IQ Consensus.Enterprise Group revenue was $7.0 bln, up 7% year over year, up 10% in constant currency, with an 11.7% operating margin.Enterprise Services revenue was $4.7 bln, down 2% year over year, up 1% in constant currency, with a 6.7% operating margin. Software revenue was $774 mln, down 13% year over year, down 10% in constant currency, with a 24.8% operating margin. Financial Services revenue was $788 mln, down 2% year over year, up 1% in constant currency, net portfolio assets were up 8%, up 9% in constant currency, and financing volume was up 15%, up 19% in constant currency. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.42-0.46 vs. $0.48 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.85-1.95 vs. $1.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate

Hewlett Packard Enterprise also announced plans for a tax-free spin-off and merger of its Enterprise Services business with CSC (CSC) which will create a pure-play, global IT services co - see 16:05 comment for additional details.Board authorized additional $3 billion for share repurchases; $4.8 billion now remaining in stock repurchase authorization

4:03 pm Jabil Circuit announces $300 mln private placement of senior unsecured notes due 2023 (JBL) : The proceeds from the sale of the notes are anticipated to be used to repay the $312.0 mln 7.75% senior notes due July 15, 2016.