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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : Broad-based buying on the back of a large batch of better-than-expected earnings announcements sent all three major indices to their best levels in months. Though most of the move came in the first half of the session, stocks were able to hold steady in the afternoon and close just off of session highs.

Gains were strongest among materials stocks. Strong results from Mosaic (MOS 51.45, +3.03) won its shares support and helped lift the materials sector 3.4%, more than any other major sector in the S&P 500.

Financial stocks also made strong gains, though they were actually laggards in the early going. Large diversified banks (+0.1%) underperformed, but a positive reaction to the latest quarterly report from regional lender Fifth Third (FITB 8.01, +1.00) helped give the financial sector a 3.0% gain.

More than 150 companies posted their latest quarterly results between last evening and this morning. The bulk of announcements were better-than-expected, which helped drive broad-based buying. Industry heavyweights 3M (MMM 69.43, +4.76), Qualcomm (QCOM 47.40, -1.05), AT&T (T 25.48, +0.64), Ford (F 6.98, +0.60), SanDisk (SNDK 16.92, -2.07), eBay (EBAY 21.52, +2.07), and Diamond Offshore (DO 92.28, +4.38) all topped Wall Street's earnings estimates. However, each of those companies saw a decline in revenue, which suggests that companies are relying on cost cuts and demand has yet to fully stabilize.

Nonetheless, the Dow finished at its best level since January and the S&P 500 finished at its highest point since November. The Nasdaq last traded at its current level in October. What's more, the Nasdaq has finished higher in each of the last 12 sessions; it hasn't accomplished such a feat since 1992 when it gained in 13 straight sessions, according to CNBC.

Small- and mid-caps have also benefited from the broader market's recent bullish bias. In turn, the Russell 2000 is at its best level since November and the S&P 400 is back at levels not seen since October.

Medarex (MEDX 15.89, +7.49) led this session's advance by small-caps. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY 20.86, +0.57) agreed to acquire the company for $16.00 per share in cash. Bristol-Myers also unveiled better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter and issued upside guidance for fiscal 2009.

Tupperware Brands (TUP 35.00, +4.25) was a primary leader among mid-caps after posting a positive earnings surprise of its own.

Commodities also benefited from broad-based buying, which pushed the CRB Commodity Index 1.8% higher in its best percentage gain since mid-June.

Amid participants' willingness to move into riskier holdings, Treasuries fell sharply out of favor. That pushed the benchmark 10-year Note nearly one point lower and lifted its yield back toward 3.7%. At its low, the Note was yielding more than 3.7%, which marked a high for this month.

There were only a couple of economic releases out this morning. Neither had a significant impact on trading. Initial jobless claims for the week ending July 18 totaled 554,000, which was up from the previous week, but essentially in-line with expectations. Meanwhile, continuing claims fell for a second straight week by coming in at 6.225 million. The surprise decline is being treated with caution since many suspect that the retreat in continuing claims was only the result of exhausted unemployment benefits.

In other economic news, existing home sales increased for the third straight month by coming in at an annual rate of 4.89 million units during June. That reflects a 3.6% month-over-month increase, which is the best monthly change since a 4.9% increase in February. DJ30 +188.03 NASDAQ +47.22 NQ100 +2.3% R2K +3.2% SP400 +2.8% SP500 +22.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2085/3.08 bln/635 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2155/1.39 bln/199

5:13PM Juniper Networks Earnings Conference Call - Update (JNPR) 26.55 +1.05 : Co sees 3Q09 EPS $0.19 to $0.21 vs $0.19 consensus; sees flat revs of $805 mln vs $789 mln consensus

4:32PM Lattice Semi beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs above consensus (LSCC) 2.14 +0.14 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.01 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.03); revenues fell 19.3% year/year to $46.9 mln vs the $43.9 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of down 2% to plus 3%, which equates to ~$46.0-48.3 mln vs. $43.17 mln consensus.

4:29PM Microsoft now trading down over 2 points since the report (MSFT) 25.56 +0.76 : Gap support from earlier this month at ~$23.25-23.35. Last trade at $23.40

4:27PM RF Micro Device beats by $0.07, beats on revs; co expects sequential rev and earnings growth for Q2 (RFMD) 4.33 +0.25 : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.00); revenues fell 11.6% year/year to $212.5 mln vs the $187.3 mln consensus. RFMD is experiencing improved order visibility in its primary markets and currently expects sequential revenue growth (consensus calls for 6.9% rev growth for Q2), driven by the increasing RF content opportunity in 3G smartphones and continued market share gains. RFMD currently anticipates sequential growth in EPS and strong cash flow in the September 2009 quarter. RFMD currently projects factory utilization rates in the September 2009 quarter will be in-line with factory utilization rates in the June quarter. Both CPG And MPG grew sequentially in excess of the growth rate of primary end markets, led by growth of more than 50% in both 3G front ends and smart grid applications. Co had gross margins of 37.0% in Q1 vs 33.0% YoY and 19.8% MoM.

4:19PM Micrel reports Q2 (Jun) results, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs above consensus (MCRL) 7.86 +0.19 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding stock based compensation, not comparable to the First Call consensus of $0.03 which includes stock based compensation; revenues fell 26.6% year/year to $51.8 mln vs the $48.6 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.06-0.08, may not be comparable to $0.05 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $53.3-55.4 vs. $50.98 mln consensus. "In addition, second quarter bookings were also solid, with a book-to-bill ratio above one. Revenues and bookings in the quarter benefited from strong demand from markets in Asia, primarily related to the build-out of infrastructure to support 3G networks in China. I am also pleased with our operating execution and expense management in the quarter. As a result, net income dollars more than doubled on a sequential quarter basis, which reflects the operating leverage in our business model."

4:09PM Juniper Networks beats by $0.01, beats on revs (JNPR) 26.55 +1.05 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 2.9% year/year to $786.4 mln vs the $767.3 mln consensus. JNPR's non-GAAP operating margin for 2Q09 increased to 18.1% from 16.4% in 1Q09 and decreased from 23.6% in the prior year second quarter. Capital expenditures as well as depreciation and amortization expense during the second quarter of 2009 were $45.2 million and $37.8 million, respectively. "We continue to take a disciplined approach to controlling operating expenses as we navigate this challenging economic period," said Kevin Johnson, Juniper's CEO. "With service provider sales relatively flat quarter-over-quarter, our sequential revenue increase was supported by double digit quarter-over-quarter growth in the enterprise market. A solid product portfolio, compelling value proposition, and improved sales and marketing execution are enabling us to expand and diversify our customer base."

4:08PM PMC-Sierra beats by $0.03, beats on revs (PMCS) 8.73 +0.42 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.10; revenues fell 11.9% year/year but rose 20.1% sequentially to $123.2 mln vs the $119.9 mln consensus.

4:08PM Rambus misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line (RMBS) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.23 per share, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.21); revenues fell 24.4% year/year to $27 mln vs the $27 mln consensus.

4:08PM Silicon Image reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q3 revs below consensus (SIMG) 2.68 +0.10 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.06 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of ($0.06); revenues fell 46.8% year/year to $37.3 mln vs the $41.2 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $44-46 mln vs. $49.33 mln consensus. "With our design win momentum, our goal is to achieve double digit revenue growth in the second half of 2009 when compared to the first six months. We also expect to start to experience growing adoption of the MHL standard,"

4:05PM MEMC Elec initially spiked $1.50 after earnings, $21.36 was the June high (WFR) : Last trade now at $21.15, only up ~$0.50

4:04PM Microsemi beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (MSCC) 14.25 -0.42 : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.19; revenues fell 17.2% year/year to $107 mln vs the $105.9 mln consensus. Non-GAAP gross margin in Q3 was 47.2%, compared to 51.9% in 3Q08 and 47.1% in the second quarter of 2009. Non-GAAP operating margin was 20.0 percent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to 27.5 percent in the third quarter of 2008 and 17.2 percent in the second quarter of 2009. Co issues mixed guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.22-0.23 vs. $0.22 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $108-11 mln vs. $108.57 mln consensus.

4:02PM Advanced Energy misses by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (AEIS) 11.85 +0.06 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.38 per share, $0.03 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.35); revenues rose 9.2% year/year to $35.6 mln vs the $33.9 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of ($0.35)-($0.29) vs. ($0.29) consensus; sees Q3 revs of $40-45 mln vs. $39.23 mln consensus.

9:06AM On The Wires : Rudolph Technologies (RTEC) announces the receipt of multiple orders for its Wafer Scanner 3840 and NSX Series inspection tools from new and repeat customers in China and Taiwan...

8:16AM Ultratech misses by $0.01, misses on revs (UTEK) 13.23 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.02 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.01); revenues fell 42.0% year/year to $18.6 mln vs the $23.2 mln consensus.

8:06AM Trina Solar signs sales agreement with PROINSO (TSL) 28.70 : Co announced that it has commenced shipment under a long-term supplier agreement with PROINSO (''Proyectos Integrales Solares S.L.''), adistributor for solar photovoltaic equipments and a specialist in engineering services in Spain. Trina Solar is one of two suppliers to provide PROINSO with PV modules. Shipments for the second quarter of 2009 through 2010 are covered in the supplier agreement. The modules are expected to be used for solar projects in the United States and major European markets including Italy, Greece and Spain. Trina Solar expects to supply PROINSO with up to 25 MW and 50 MW of PV modules in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Prices and quarterly purchase volumes under this agreement are pre-determined through March of 2010. The Company made its first shipment in late June 2009.

7:10AM Celestica beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (CLS) 8.08 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.10; revenues fell 25.3% year/year to $1.4 bln vs the $1.39 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.11-0.17 vs. $0.13 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $1.43-1.58 bln vs. $1.49 bln consensus.

7:08AM EMC Corp beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY09 EPS above consensus (EMC) 14.41 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.17; revenues fell 11.3% year/year to $3.26 bln vs the $3.2 bln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $0.82 vs. $0.78 consensus; sees FY09 revs of $13.8 bln, including $200 million of revenues from Data Domain, may not be comparable to $13.49 bln consensus. Consolidated third-quarter revenues are expected to increase 2% to 3% from the second quarter 2009 excluding revenues from the acquisition of Data Domain, and are expected to increase 4% to 5% including revenues from the acquisition of Data Domain. "This marks another quarter of solid execution, and I am proud of the EMC and VMware teams around the world that produced these results. We are focused on four of the hottest and fastest-growing areas of IT spending - next-generation fully virtualized data centers; cloud computing; virtualized desktops and clients; and next-generation backup, recovery and archive solutions. This, together with our market leading products, solutions, services and proven go-to-market model gives us confidence that EMC will continue to gain market share this year. When IT markets resume to more normal spending rates, we expect EMC will return to generating double-digit revenue growth."

6:04AM Cabot Micro beats by $0.47, beats on revs (CCMP) 30.82 : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.47 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.08); revenues fell 10.9% year/year to $86.4 mln vs the $66.1 mln consensus. "We are delighted with our strong financial performance this quarter, which we believe reflects a combination of improved underlying demand and inventory replenishment within the semiconductor industry, as well as continued successful execution of our strategies and key initiatives. Our flexible business model enabled our organization to rapidly ramp up to successfully meet the significant rebound in demand from our customers, while we continued to execute on cost saving initiatives resulting in our lowest level of quarterly operating expenses since fiscal 2006," said William Noglows, Chairman and CEO. "Given the historical volatility of the industry and our limited visibility into customer demand, we remain cautious regarding future industry demand."