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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : Stocks dropped in broad-based fashion after they failed to extend an early gain and the U.S. dollar made another strong move off of its yearly low.

The major indices were up solidly in the early going, but the S&P 500 struggled to break above the 1090 zone and the Nasdaq 100 ran into resistance when it approached the 2009 highs that it had set last week. As stocks stalled, sellers stepped in and undercut the early advance. That caused stocks to drop sharply and spend the rest of the afternoon trading in negative territory.

A stronger dollar also weighed on stocks. The greenback has now gained ground against a basket of foreign currencies for three straight sessions, the latest of which took it 0.7% higher in its best single-session percentage move of the past month. That made for particular trouble against multinationals and materials stocks, which dropped 2.5%.

Monsanto (MON 70.69, -4.54) created an additional drag on the materials sector. The stock was caught up in chatter that an analyst issued pessimistic comments about the chemical company's pricing efforts.

Financials were also among the worst performers this session. The sector sank 2.5% as bank stocks tumbled 4.1%, based on the KBW Banking Index. Weakness surrounding banking issues stemmed from a downgrade by Rochdale of regional lenders Fifth Third (FITB 9.52, -0.82) and SunTrust (STI 19.85, -1.14).

There weren't any real leaders for participants to follow this session. Dow component Verizon (VZ 28.64, -0.21) was one of the only widely-held companies to report its latest results this morning. The integrated telecom giant posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings of $0.60 per share for the third quarter, but they were largely dismissed, leaving telecom to fall to a 1.3% loss.

All 10 major sectors finished the session in the red. Seven of them suffered losses in excess of 1%.

Despite widespread weakness in the equity markets, Treasuries suffered. As such, the benchmark 10-year Note dropped roughly 18 ticks, which took its yield above 3.5% for the first time since August. Its weakness seemed to worsen in the wake of better-than-average results for an auction of 5-year TIPS.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Financials (-2.5%), Materials (-2.5%), Energy (-1.5%), Telecom (-1.3%), Utilities (-1.3%), Health Care (-1.1%), Industrials (-1.0%), Consumer Staples (-0.8%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.5%), Tech (-0.3%)DJ30 -104.22 NASDAQ -12.62 NQ100 -0.4% R2K -1.2% SP400 -1.1% SP500 -12.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 763/2.33 bln/1914 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 713/1.39 bln/2317

4:12PM Veeco Instruments beats by $0.15, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (VECO) 25.07 -0.49 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.15 better than the First Call consensus of $0.01; revenues fell 14.5% year/year to $98.9 mln vs the $86.4 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.29-0.35 vs. $0.12 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $120-130 mln vs. $100.01 mln consensus. Co said, "Veeco's backlog at the end of September was $287 million, with $239M in LED & Solar. We continue to experience positive business trends in our MOCVD business, with a high level of demand for our K465 MOCVD System due to its industry-leading productivity. We are ramping up our manufacturing capacity to satisfy customer demand. While it is challenging to predict quarterly bookings trends in this dynamic environment, it is clear to us that MOCVD quoting activity remains well above historic levels."

4:05PM Flextronics beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (FLEX) 7.11 : Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.13 per share, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $0.09; revenues rose 0.8% year/year to $5.83 bln vs the $5.77 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.14-0.16 vs. $0.13 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $6.0-6.4 bln vs. $6.24 bln consensus.

4:05PM Veeco Instruments announces public offering of up to 5,000,000 shares of its common stock (VECO) 25.07 -0.49 :

6:54AM Corning beats by $0.03, beats on revs; co sees Q4 glass volume flat to down slightly with pricing similar QoQ (GLW) 15.65 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.42 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.39; revenues fell 4.9% year/year to $1.48 bln vs the $1.42 bln consensus. Corning expects glass volume in its wholly owned display business to be flat to down slightly sequentially in Q4. At SCP, glass volume is expected to be consistent quarter to quarter. The co also anticipates glass pricing at both its wholly owned business and SCP to be consistent with the third quarter. Flaws noted that without the temporary loss of glass production from Taichung, Corning had expected a quarter-over-quarter volume increase of approximately 5%... "demand, along with our expectation that panel manufacturers may lower utilization rates later this quarter, should allow the industry to maintain healthy inventory levels and alleviate any over-supply concerns," This demand is expected to result in a worldwide glass market of at least 2.7 bln square feet in 2010, an annual increase of approximately 15%. "We believe the amount of glass capacity that is currently being restarted by the industry is in line to meet these end market demand expectations." The co stated glass demand will likely vary quarter to quarter next year. "We believe panel makers may respond to the seasonal decline in demand by reducing utilization rates in the first quarter. As a result, we would also expect first-quarter glass demand to be sequentially lower. Looking ahead to the second quarter, we would expect utilization rates at the panel makers to snap back as the supply chain expands to meet the seasonally stronger second half. In this environment, we would expect second-quarter glass demand to also increase significantly." Display Technologies combined glass volume, including Corning's wholly owned business and Samsung Corning Precision Glass (SCP), increased 4% over a very strong second quarter. Volume in the company's wholly owned business was consistent with the second quarter, while SCP's volume increased 7%. Glass pricing was comparable to the previous quarter. The co's gross margin for the quarter was 41%. "At the same time, we expect to see normal seasonal declines in our Telecommunications and Environmental Technologies businesses."

6:31AM SolarWinds announces intention to file registration statement for public offering of common stock (SWI) 19.84 : Co announces that it intends to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of common stock. SolarWinds intends to offer 1.5 mln shares of common stock and selling stockholders intend to offer 8.5 mln shares of common stock. To the extent that the underwriters sell more than 10.0 mln shares of common stock, the selling stockholders intend to grant the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to 1.5 mln additional shares of common stock.

5:24AM Marvell raises 3Q10 revenue guidance (MRVL) 14.58 : Co raises guidance for Q3 (Oct), sees Q3 (Oct) revs of $760.0-775.0 mln (prior range $680.0-730.0 mln) vs. $710.57 mln First Call consensus. The increase in projected revenues is due to broad improvement in demand within multiple end markets. Marvell anticipates a one-time tax benefit during 3Q10 as a result of the reversal of previously recorded tax reserves as a result of the expiration of the related statute of limitations. Co expects the reversal will result in a net tax benefit for 3Q10 of approx $25 mln, or approx $0.05 per share on a GAAP basis.

11:37 am Marvell Technologies (MRVL)

Marvell Technology (MRVL 15.11, +0.53) raised its revenue guidance for the third quarter due to what it called a "broad improvement in demand within multiple end markets."

Marvell said it currently projects net revenue for the third quarter to range from $760 million to $775 million, an increase of 19-21% sequentially from the second quarter and well ahead of the $710.57 million First Call consensus. The company previously forecasted third quarter revenue of $680 million to $730 million.

Marvell also said it anticipates a one-time tax benefit during the fiscal third quarter as a result of the reversal of previously recorded tax reserves as a result of the expiration of the related statute of limitations. Marvell currently expects the reversal will result in a net tax benefit for the third fiscal quarter of 2010 of approximately $25 million, or approximately $0.05 per share on a GAAP basis.

11:13 am Corning (GLW)

Corning (GLW 15.83, +0.18) reported third quarter earnings this morning which modestly beat expectations.

The company reported third quarter earnings of $0.42, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.39. Revenue fell 4.9% to $1.48 billion vs. the $1.42 billion consensus.

In the fourth quarter, the company expects glass volume in its wholly owned display business to be flat to down slightly sequentially. At Samsung Corning Precision Glass (SCP), glass volume is expected to be consistent quarter to quarter. The company also anticipates glass pricing at both its wholly owned business and SCP to be consistent with the third quarter.

CFO James B. Flaws said, "In our Display segment, global retailers are expected to offer attractive pricing for LCD televisions, which is likely to result in continuing robust demand through the fourth quarter. This retail demand, along with our expectation that panel manufacturers may lower utilization rates later this quarter, should allow the industry to maintain healthy inventory levels and alleviate any over-supply concerns."

The company anticipates that worldwide unit sales of LCD televisions next year could reach 156 million, a 20% increase over 2009. Additionally, computer notebook sales are forecasted to grow by about 20%, while desktop monitor sales are expected to increase about 4% for the year. This demand is expected to result in a worldwide glass market of at least 2.7 billion square feet in 2010, an annual increase of approximately 15%. "We believe the amount of glass capacity that is currently being restarted by the industry is in-line to meet these end market demand expectations," said Flaws.

Corning said glass demand will likely vary quarter to quarter next year and said it expects first quarter glass demand to be sequentially lower but the second quarter could show an increase in demand as the supply chain expands ahead of the seasonally stronger second half.

10:13 am Verizon Wireless (VZ)

Verizon Wireless (VZ 29.01, +0.16) reported third quarter earnings and revenue this morning which were slightly higher than consensus.

The company reported third quarter earnings of $0.60 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.59.

Revenue rose 10.2% year-over-year to $27.27 billion vs. the $27.17 billion consensus.

For the quarter, the company reported 89.0 million total wireless customers, up 25.7%; 86.3 million retail customers, up 25.4%; 1.2 million net customer additions, excluding acquisitions and adjustments.

The company's Wireless segment showed a 24.4% increase in total revenues compared with 3Q 2008; continued low retail postpaid churn, 1.13%; data revenues up 48.1%; 28.3% operating income margin and 46.1% EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP).

Monthly cash expense per customer (non-GAAP) decreased in the third quarter 2009 to $27.52 from $28.42 in the comparable period in 2008 on a pro forma basis.

For wireline, Verizon reported 198,000 net new FiOS Internet customers and 191,000 net new FiOS TV customers, with increased sales penetration for both services; 3.3 million total FiOS Internet customers and 2.7 million total FiOS TV customers and a 12.6% increase in consumer ARPU.