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From Briefing.com: 5:02PM Virage Logic appoints Dr. Alex Shubat to newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (VIRL) 5.43 -0.03 :

4:26PM Advanced Micro reports EPS in-line, revs in-line with guidance; expects Q2 revenue to decrease in line with seasonality (AMD) 6.19 +0.12 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.51 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of ($0.51); revenues rose 22.1% year/year to $1.5 bln, in line with 4/7 guidance for $1.5 bln. AMD expects Q2 revenue to decrease in line with seasonality. As previously disclosed, AMD expects to record a restructuring charge in Q2 of 2008. "A seasonally weak first quarter was amplified by a challenging economic environment for consumers and lower than expected revenues of previous generation products, resulting in lower than expected revenues in all business segments. However, we are encouraged by the market acceptance of our Quad-Core AMD Opteron server processors as well as our new chipset and graphics offerings... We remain committed to achieve operating profitability in the second half of the year, driven by our portfolio of new products and platforms and aggressive restructuring programs."

4:17PM SanDisk misses by $0.05, beats on revs (SNDK) 25.90 -0.80 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.05 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 8.1% year/year to $850 mln vs the $810.9 mln consensus. Q1 non-GAAP product gross margins 20.9% compared to 18.5% in the prior-year period and 29.7% in Q4. "Product sales were solid on the strength of our international business, Sansa MP3 players and sales to the mobile handset and GPS markets. Pricing was challenging throughout the quarter due to industry-wide excess supply which adversely impacted our product gross margin... We expect demand to increase seasonally during the second quarter and price declines to moderate; however, product margins are expected to continue to be under pressure in Q2 with the anticipated benefit of low cost 43-nanometer and 3-bits per cell coming in the second half of the year. We are focused on cost controls and expense reductions and we continue to believe that the cumulative impact of price declines in recent quarters will accelerate the creation of new markets for Flash storage."

4:10PM PMC-Sierra beats by $0.03, beats on revs (PMCS) 6.37 -0.09 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.08; revenues rose 20.6% year/year and up 1.2% sequentially to $125.0 mln vs the $123.1 mln consensus. Co says that in Q1 it experienced strong demand for its fiber to the home, enterprise storage, and laser printer products. The overall business environment has improved in Asia, and co says it is gaining market share in a number of key target markets.

4:20 pm : Stocks were challenged Thursday to extend the prior day's surge. The indices spent the majority of the session modestly lower until making a late day push to higher ground, but the stock market settled at the unchanged level.

Investor sentiment was initially bolstered by a solid first quarter report from bellwether IBM (IBM 123.08, +2.61). IBM announced after yesterday's close better than expected earnings results and increased its full-year earnings outlook above the consensus forecast.

However, disappointing announcements from investment bank Merrill Lynch (MER 46.71, +1.82) and pharmaceutical company Pfizer (PFE 20.40, -0.70) led to pessimism among investors. Merrill, for its part, announced a loss of $2.20 per share, which fell $0.21 short of the consensus earnings estimate. The firm also announced asset backed security write-downs of $1.5 billion and an additional $3.0 billion in write-downs related to financial guarantees. As for Pfizer, the company reported first quarter earnings of $0.61 per share, which was a nickel short of the consensus estimate.

Despite the announcement from Merrill, brokers and investment banks (+3.0%) were able to advance markedly on the session. Citigroup (C 24.03, +0.59) also climbed after announcing it will sell CitiCapital, its North American commercial lending and leasing business, to General Electric's (GE 32.02, -0.21) GE Capital. Overall, financials (+1.4%) outperformed the other major economic sectors.

Jobless claims for the week ending April 12 totaled 372,000. On average, economists had expected jobless claims to total 375,000. Claims were up from the prior week's revised reading of 355,000 jobless claims.

In other economic news, Philadelphia's regional manufacturing index, the Philadelphia Fed Survey, came in at -24.9, that was worse than the expected reading of -15.0 and down from the prior month's reading of -17.4.

The Conference Board's leading economic indicators report for the month of March posted a 0.1% increase, which matched economists expectations. The previous reading indicated a decline of 0.3%.

Though crude oil finished the session at $114.78 per barrel, near the unchanged mark, it recorded a new intraday high of $115.54 per barrel earlier in the session.DJ30 +1.22 NASDAQ -8.28 NQ100 -0.3% R2K -0.8% SP400 -0.4% SP500 +0.85 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1748/1107/1.82 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1548/1583/1.23 bln

11:54AM Cypress Semi guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (CY) 29.52 +1.46 : Co issues mixed guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.20-0.24 vs. $0.22 First Call consensus; sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $526-552 mln vs. $477.14 mln consensus.

7:34AM Cypress Semi misses by $0.02, beats on revs (CY) 28.06 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.12 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.14; revenues rose 25.8% year/year to $431.2 mln vs the $412 mln consensus. Co reports Q1 non-GAAP gross margins 34.2% vs 34.3% Street expectation... Note- CY reported in their release that revenues were helped by a record quarter from SPWR (CY owns approx 75% of SPWR). The higher revenue mix was also a primary reason for the lower gross margins as SPWR margins generally run around 24-25%.

9:07AM Photon Dynamics raises Q2 revs above consensus, raises Q2 EPS (PHTN) 10.26 : Co raises Q2 revs to $42-45 mln vs $37.4 mln consensus, up from prior $36-38 mln. Co raises Q2 GAAP EPS to greater than $0.12, may not be comparable to $0.00 consensus, up from prior ($0.11)-(0.05). Co says, "We have received accelerated acceptance on several new systems with ParagonAVIOS that were shipped in the March quarter. The acceleration of acceptance reflects not only the continued strength in the flat panel display business environment but also the growing traction of our strategic initiative of enhancing our competitiveness."

8:07AM Sunpower beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY08 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (SPWR) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $0.35; revenues rose 92.6% year/year to $274 mln vs the $245.2 mln consensus. Gross margins were 24.0%, within co's guidance of 24-25% but down from 25.3% in prior quarter due to product mix. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.48-0.52 vs. $0.46 consensus; sees Q2 revs of $330-350 mln vs. $295.13 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $2.10-2.20 vs. $2.07 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $1.3-1.375 bln vs. $1.27 bln consensus.

8:01AM Dell announces plans to sell laptop and desktop computers in Suning stores in China (DELL) 18.72 : Co announces plans today to sell laptop and desktop computers in Suning stores and to expand its relationship with Gome, the consumer electronics retailer in China. Additionally, Dell will sell systems in Hontu stores and through several PC chain retailers including Wuxing, Meicheng, Heng Chang and Heyong stores, making many of Dell's products accessible in China's major urban areas.

7:36AM Fairchild Semi misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (FCS) 14.00 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 0.9% year/year to $406.3 mln vs the $412.6 mln consensus. Co sees Q2 revs flat to +3%, or roughly $406.3-418.5 mln vs. $415.87 mln consensus. "At the start of the quarter, we had about 89 percent of this sales guidance booked and scheduled to ship. We expect gross margin to be down 75 to 125 basis points sequentially due to the delayed impact of lower factory starts in the first quarter. We expect R&D and SG&A expenses to be approximately $89 to $91 million and net interest and other expenses to be about $5.5 million for the second quarter."

6:10AM Nokia beats by Euro 0.02; reaffirms 2008 industry mobile device growth expectation (NOK) 33.69 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of Euro 0.38 per share, excluding non-recurring items, Euro 0.02 better than the First Call consensus of Euro 0.36; revenues rose 28.4% year/year to Euro 12.66 bln vs the Euro 12.66 bln consensus. Nokia reported device volumes of 115.5 mln vs 115.6 mln street expectation. Co said that it expects industry mobile device volumes in the second quarter 2008 to be up slightly sequentially, similar to the market growth in the second quarter 2007, compared to the first quarter 2007. Co reaffirms its expectation that industry mobile device volumes in 2008 to grow approximately 10% from the approximately 1.14 billion units Nokia estimates for 2007. Nokia expects the mobile device market to decline in value in Euro terms in 2008, compared to 2007. Nokia continues to expect some decline in industry ASPs in 2008. Co continues to target an increase in its market share in mobile devices in 2008.

09:21 am Nokia (NOK)

Shares of mobile phone manufacturer Nokia (NOK 33.69) are getting pummeled in premarket trading, as a disappointing outlook is overshadowing the company's better than expected earnings results.

The Finland-based company reported first quarter earnings rose 15% to 0.38 euro per share, excluding non-recurring items. This is 0.02 euro better than the consensus estimate. Revenues rose 28% year-over-year to 12.66 billion euro, which matched expectations.

Nokia reported device volumes of 115.5 million, which was basically in-line with expectations. The company reaffirmed its expectation that industry mobile device volumes in 2008 will grow approximately 10% from the 2007 level of approximately 1.14 billion units.

However, Nokia expects the mobile device market to decline in value in euro terms in 2008. The firm cited a negative impact from the weakened U.S. dollar, the economic slowdown in the U.S., and some economic slowdown in Europe.

This negative view has its shares trading down nearly 12% ahead of the opening bell. At yesterday's closing price, the firm's shares had already fallen 20% from their 52-week high.

08:12 am IBM (IBM)

IBM's (IBM 120.47) first quarter profit soared thanks to the firm's large global presence and the weak dollar. Big Blue also increased its 2008 outlook.

Total revenue increased 11% to $24.5 billion and net income surged 36% to $1.65 per share. This handily topped the consensus estimate of $23.7 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.45 per share.

The firm benefited from a strong increase in global sales, which now accounts for 65% of revenue. Revenue grew by 16% in Europe/Middle East/Africa and by 14% in Asia-Pacific. By comparison, revenue increased by 6% in the U.S.

However, much of the overseas gains were fueled by the weak dollar, which makes the 6% gain in U.S. revenue more impressive given the weakening U.S. economy. When taking out the favorable currency adjustments revenues rose 4% in Europe/Middle East/Africa, 3% in Asia-Pacific and 11% in growth markets.

In terms of business segments, growth was the strongest in services with a 17% rise (9% adjusted for currency). Software rose 14% (6% adjusted for currency). Continuing its negative trend, revenue in the Systems and Technology segment fell 7% (-14% adjusted for currency).

IBM expects to earn at least $8.50 per share in 2008, which tops the consensus estimate of $8.25. The firm does not expect any negative impact from the economic conditions, and will remain conservative on its balance sheet. IBM reiterated its plan to buyback $12 billion in stock in 2008. CEO Samuel J. Palmisano summed it up by saying, "we feel good about the rest of the year."

IBM's results are good example of what Briefing.com has been arguing -- a weak dollar increases profits for multinational companies.