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From Briefing.com: 4:35 pm : Uninspired by the latest batch of earnings announcements, bulls initially yielded control of stocks to sellers for the second straight session. However, the early decline in stocks compelled buyers looking for more attractive entry prices to move in and offer their support. That helped stocks rebound midmorning and climb higher for the rest of the session.

Financials attracted the most support. The sector was down more than 1% in the early going, but finished with an 8.2% gain at its best levels of the session. Buying in the sector was broad-based, but US Bancorp (USB 19.27, +3.33) provided some of the most positive influence to diversified banks (+13.6%) and the overall financial sector after it reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings.

Meanwhile, Regions Financial (RF 6.14, +0.34) attracted buyers into regional banks (+6.9%) after holding an upbeat conference call. The stock was initially sent lower after the company announced a small profit for the latest quarter. Shares of RF swung nearly 28% from their session low to their closing price.

Buying among financials also helped lift investment services stocks. State Street (STT 36.15, +5.50) surged after topping earnings estimates, but even Bank of New York (BK 27.98, -0.05) and Northern Trust (NTRS 56.17, -1.98) were able to pare losses after both falling short of analysts' expectations.

Semiconductors (+3.3%) were supported when Texas Instruments (TXN 17.11, -0.21) reported better-than-expected results and indicated that demand has begun to stabilize.

Dow components IBM (IBM 102.31, +1.88), Coca-Cola (KO 43.09, -1.24), Caterpillar (CAT 31.39, +0.91), DuPont (DD 28.06, +1.32), Merck (MRK 23.54, -1.68), and United Technologies (UTX 47.99, +2.18) all issued quarterly results for participants to digest. The results were generally mixed, leaving the blue chip average to trail the other headline indices for virtually the entire session. Still, the Dow managed to close with a solid gain.

Small-cap stocks saw some of the strongest gains. The Russell 2000 Small-Cap Index tacked on 3.9% this session. Emulex (ELX 9.70, +3.09) was a primary leader among small-cap stocks. Its gain came after the company received an offer from Broadcom (BRCM 20.52, -1.27) to be acquired for about $764 million.

Airlines also made a strong performance by climbing 10.0% after Delta Air Lines (DAL 8.11, +1.30) reported a first quarter loss that wasn't quite as bad as feared.

Educational services stocks were absent from this session's advance. Prior to the opening bell, analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded several service providers. The group fell 7.0%.

Health care stocks also lagged. Health care was the only sector to finish in the red; it closed 0.9% lower. United Health (UNH 22.80, -1.41) and Schering-Plough (SGP 22.11, -0.94) both were laggards, despite better-than-expected earnings.

There were no economic reports today, but Treasury Secretary Geithner spoke before a congressional committee. He indicated that there was still about $109.6 billion available from the $700 billion rescue package passed last year, and he expects to get at least an additional $25 billion back, bringing the total to $134.6 billion.DJ30 +127.83 NASDAQ +35.64 NQ100 +1.5% R2K +3.9% SP400 +3.1% SP500 +17.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2021/1.94 bln/671 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2409/1.67 bln/634

4:30PM Yahoo! beats by $0.07, misses on revs; issues Q2 total revs guidance; to reduce headcount by approx 5% worldwide (YHOO) 14.38 +0.72 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of $0.08; revenues after deducting traffic acquisition costs, fell 14.5% year/year to $1.16 bln vs the $1.2 bln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q2, sees Q2 total revs of $1.42-1.63 bln, not comparable to consensus. YHOO expects to reduce employees worldwide by approx 5%. Co said, "Yahoo! is not immune to the ongoing economic downturn, but careful cost management in the first quarter allowed our operating cash flow to come in near the high end of our outlook range... While we experienced pressure in both display and search advertising in the first quarter, we believe Yahoo! remains one of the most compelling advertising buys on the Internet."

4:18PM Advanced Micro beats by $0.04, beats on revs (AMD) 3.36 +0.05 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.62 per share, ex items, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.66); revenues fell 20.8% year/year to $1.18 bln vs the $977.8 mln consensus. First quarter 2009 AMD gross margin was 43 percent, including a positive impact of 5 percentage points due to a $64 million benefit from the sale of inventory written down in the fourth quarter of 2008. Considering current macroeconomic conditions, limited visibility and historical seasonal patterns, AMD expects its Product Company revenue to be down for the second quarter of 2009.

4:10PM Cree beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (CREE) 26.06 -0.32 : Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 4.9% year/year to $131.1 mln vs the $130.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.13-0.15, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.13 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $137-143 mln vs. $136.42 mln consensus. "Growth in LED lighting partially offset lower demand for auto, mobile and consumer applications in Q3, and we target total LED revenue to rebound in Q4 driven by increased demand for commercial lighting and video screens. As we look ahead to Fiscal 2010, we are targeting our LED lighting and LED component product lines to continue to grow, and we are planning to continue to invest in R&D and capacity to enable this growth."

4:10PM Seagate Tech reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line (STX) 6.67 +0.21 : Reports Q3 (Mar) loss of $0.45 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of ($0.45); revenues fell 30.7% year/year to $2.15 bln vs the $2.01 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of ($0.29)-($0.39) vs. ($0.30) consensus; sees Q4 revs of $1.9-2.2 bln vs. $1.98 bln consensus. For the June quarter, in light of the company's view of the current market environment, the company is planning for the overall demand for disk drives to be relatively flat as compared to the March quarter. The co believes opportunities exist to reduce operating costs in product development, marketing/administrative and manufacturing areas to target a cost structure that generates positive cash flow and earnings within its fiscal year 2010.

4:08PM SanDisk beats by $0.28, beats on revs (SNDK) 13.71 +0.31 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.48 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.28 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.76); revenues fell 22.4% year/year to $659.5 mln vs the $537.7 mln consensus. "Industry fundamentals improved in the first quarter. We are encouraged that industry supply and demand balance is becoming better aligned, resulting in higher flash pricing. Our financial results improved substantially from the prior quarter driven by better than expected demand, strong product cost reductions and lower operating expenses."

1:16PM Emulex confirms receipt of unsolicited proposal; Board will review the proposal (ELX) 9.46 +2.85 : Co confirms that its Board of Directors has received an unsolicited proposal from Broadcom (BRCM) to acquire Emulex for $9.25 per share in cash. The Board will review the proposal in due course, consistent with its fiduciary duties, in consultation with its financial advisor, Goldman, Sachs and its legal advisor. Emulex noted that there is no need for Emulex stockholders to take any action at this time.

8:06AM Emulex: Broadcom offers to acquire ELX for $9.25 per share (ELX) 6.61 : BRCM announces that it has made a proposal to ELX to acquire all the outstanding shares of ELX common stock for $9.25 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $764 mln. The offer represents a 40% premium above the closing price of Emulex common stock on April 20, 2009, a 62% premium to trailing 30 day average price per share and an approximately 85 percent premium to enterprise value. Broadcom's cash offer will be funded from its approximately $2.0 bln of existing cash and marketable securities on hand... Today, Mr. McGregor sent a letter to Emulex's Board of Directors outlining the proposal, with the goal of moving rapidly to the negotiation and closing of a transaction. "I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of Broadcom Corporation to propose that Broadcom acquire all of the outstanding shares of Emulex common stock for $9.25 per share, payable in cash. Our proposal is not subject to any financing condition. We are confident that if we are given the opportunity to engage directly with Emulex we will be able to negotiate a mutually acceptable merger agreement, which we believe we would be able to complete expeditiously... To move forward quickly, we have retained Banc of America Securities as our financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP as our legal advisor, which, alongside our senior management team, have already completed extensive analysis and due diligence based on publicly available information. Broadcom has a well-established record as an acquiror, having completed more than forty such transactions over the past decade."

4:25AM First Solar secures financing for 53 MW solar power plant in Germany (FSLR) 138.48 : Co and Juwi Holding AG announce they have secured financing for a 53 megawatt DC photovoltaic power plant near the German city of Cottbus. More than 80% of the required project capital is financed through non-recourse debt from a consortium of banks. First Solar and Juwi intend to sell the majority of the project after its completion. Construction of the project began in January 2009, and the first 15MW have been completed. The remaining 38MW are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009.

08:15 am Texas Instruments (TXN)

Texas Instruments (TXN 17.32) reported first quarter earnings that topped expectations and said that demand for its products has begun to stabilize after sharp drops in the past two quarters.

Texas Instruments reported first quarter earnings of $0.01 per share, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus that called for a loss of $0.03 per share. The consensus estimate includes restructuring charges.

Revenues plunged 36.2% year-over-year to $2.09 billion; the consensus expected $1.9 billion. Texas Instruments said the decline from a year ago was due to lower revenue in all segments and the associated lower gross profit, as well as the impact of underutilized manufacturing assets and restructuring charges.

The company's gross margins in the quarter were shy of the consensus estimate, coming at 38.6% compared to the consensus of 39.29%.

For the second quarter, Texas Instruments said it expects to post earnings per share from $0.01 to $0.15, including restructuring charges. The consensus currently stands at $0.02. The company expects revenues to range from $1.95 billion to $2.40 billion; the consensus calls for $1.94 billion.

CEO Rich Templeton said many customers have increased orders for Texas Instruments products as they begin to slow down their inventory reductions. In fact, said Templeton, the company expects to "moderately increase production levels" during the second quarter.

Shares of TXN are up 2% in premarket trade.

08:06 am IBM (IBM)

IBM (IBM 100.43) posted first quarter earnings that topped the consensus estimate and reaffirmed its earnings outlook for 2009, but the company's revenue results were hurt by the stronger U.S. dollar.

IBM reported earnings of $1.70 per share for its first quarter, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $1.66.

Revenues were down 11.4% year-over-year to $21.71 billion; the consensus expected $22.51 billion. IBM said revenues would have been down only 4% when adjusting for the impact of foreign currency.

By region, revenues in the Americas were down 7% year-over-year, while Europe, Middle East and Africa revenues fell 18% and Asia-Pacific dropped 6%.

IBM improved its gross margins to 43.4% in the first quarter, better than the 41.5% recorded in the same period last year and ahead of the consensus estimate of 42.4%. The company said improved margins in services and software were behind the increase.

IBM ended the first quarter with $12.3 billion of cash on hand and generated free cash flow of $1.0 billion, up $450 million year-over-year.

Looking ahead, IBM said that it expects full year 2009 earnings of "at least" $9.20 per share; the consensus currently stands at $9.03 per share. In addition, IBM CEO Samuel J. Palmisano said, "We remain well ahead of pace for our 2010 roadmap of $10 to $11 per share."

Shares of IBM are down 2.4% in Tuesday's premarket trading.