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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : A better-than-expected third quarter GDP reading helped the stock market snap back from its worst loss in weeks, but it wasn't enough to prevent stocks from heading into Friday with a week-to-date loss in excess of 1%.

Despite some wavering in the first few minutes of trade, stocks put together a steady ascent that took all 10 major sectors higher. The broad-based gains stemmed from news that third quarter GDP surged to an annualized growth rate of 3.5%. GDP was expected to increase 3.2% after contracting 0.7% in the second quarter.

The stronger-than-expected growth overshadowed news that initial jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 24 totaled 530,000, which is more than the 525,000 initial claims that were widely expected and still uncomfortably high.

Financial issues garnered the most support of the major sectors. The sector surged 4.3%, which is its best single-session percentage gain in three months. Life and health insurers (+7.6%) and multiline insurers (+6.7%) saw some of the strongest gains following a positive earnings surprise from Lincoln Financial (LNC 25.34, +3.09) and an upgrade of Genworth Financial (GNW 10.18, +1.49).

Materials stocks also fared well. The sector climbed 3.2% as broader market support and commodities and basic materials prices were propped up by a drooping U.S. dollar, which sank 0.6% against a basket of major foreign currencies in its first down session in one week.

Traders pushed oil prices up 3.1% to $79.89 per barrel, which helped the energy sector to a 2.4% gain. Exxon Mobil (XOM 73.96, +0.12) eked out a gain, but was generally a drag on the sector after it missed the consensus earnings estimate.

Fellow Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG 59.54, +2.31) posted a positive earnings surprise, as did its competitor Colgate-Palmolive (CL 78.94, +1.26). Though their results were strong, the consumer staples sector underperformed the broader market.

Telecom lagged for the entire session and even spent the first half trading with a loss as integrated telcos (-0.1%) offset strength in Motorola (MOT 8.74, +0.78), which posted better-than-expected third quarter earnings and issued an upside fourth quarter forecast.

With participants pushing many defensive-oriented issues aside in favor of riskier holdings, Treasuries also came under pressure. That took the benchmark 10-year Note down some 20 ticks, which lifted its yield back toward 3.5%. Treasuries caught additional attention as results from a $31 billion auction of 7-year Treasuries drew a slightly stronger-than-expected bid-to-cover ratio of 2.65.

Advancing Sectors: Financials (+4.3%), Materials (+3.2%), Consumer Discretionary (+2.7%), Energy (+2.4%), Industrials (+2.0%), Tech (+1.9%), Consumer Staples (+1.8%), Health Care (+1.0%), Utilities (+0.9%), Telecom (+0.6%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +199.89 NASDAQ +37.94 NQ100 +1.7% R2K +2.5% SP400 +2.2% SP500 +23.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1877/2.33 bln/788 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2502/1.45 bln/546

6:04PM Silicon Motion beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs in-line (SIMO) 3.61 -0.15 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.08); revenues rose 13.8% year/year to $23.1 mln vs the $21.7 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs flat to up 10% sequentially, which equates to ~$23.1-25.4 mln vs. $24.64 mln consensus.

4:36PM Conexant reports Q4 EPS of $0.07 vs $0.01 First Call consensus; revs $56.2 mln vs $54.15 mln First Call consensus (CNXT) 2.44 +0.31 : Conexant sees Q1 $0.11 vs $0.09 First Call consensus; sees revs $60.00 mln vs $56.45 mln First Call consensus. The company also said that its imaging and audio businesses grew 18% on a sequential basis and accounted for 58% of total revenues.

4:34PM Varian Semi beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (VSEA) 30.68 +1.20 : Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.05; revenues fell 17.3% year/year to $117.5 mln vs the $110 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.15-$0.20 vs. $0.11 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $134-$144 mln vs. $123.85 mln consensus. "Our fourth quarter gross margin of 45.4% exceeded both our guidance of 43% to 44% and our past performance at this point in a recovery. We project this trend of increasing gross margin to continue into the first quarter of fiscal year 2010."

4:21PM MIPS Techs beats by $0.01, beats on revs (MIPS) 3.74 +0.18 : Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.05; revenues fell 23.5% year/year to $15 mln vs the $14.2 mln consensus.

4:19PM KLA-Tencor beats by $0.13, beats on revs (KLAC) 34.28 +1.03 : Reports Q1 (Sep) non-GAAP earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.13 better than the First Call consensus of $0.02; revenues fell 35.6% year/year to $343 mln vs the $332.3 mln consensus. GAAP EPS came in at $0.12. KLA-Tencor reports gross margin 50.0% vs 48.5% consensus. "KLA-Tencor delivered stronger-than-expected results and returned to profitability in the first quarter of fiscal 2010, led by a sharp increase in demand from foundry customers. Our results were also favorably impacted by a one-time non-operating gain and by a lower than normal tax rate... We announced several new products targeted at addressing our customers' next-generation wafer and reticle inspection requirements. As our customers increase their technology investments at the leading edge, we are advancing our market leadership while remaining focused on cost discipline."

4:19PM Tessera Tech beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 revs below consensus (TSRA) 26.86 +1.58 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.24 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 4.1% year/year to $66.1 mln vs the $65.7 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $60-62 mln vs. $69.97 mln consensus. "Better than anticipated results from our Micro-electronics customers drove our third quarter 2009 revenue to $66.1 million," said Henry R. Nothhaft, president and chief executive officer, Tessera. "Roughly 60% of DRAM sold today is in the DDR2 format. DDR3, also packaged in our patented chip-scale packaging technology, is expected to become the primary DRAM format by mid-2010. Due to improvements in speed and performance, it is anticipated DDR3 will remain the primary format through at least 2013. Tessera is well positioned to benefit from this transition and the long-term growth of the DRAM market, which we expect will drive growth in our Micro-electronics business. With respect to our Imaging & Optics business, we signed three new licensing agreements in the third quarter, for technologies ranging from our Wafer-level Packaging to Optical and Embedded Image Enhancement, and expect them to further drive our Imaging & Optics royalty revenue growth in 2010..."

4:11PM Novatel Wireless beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs below consensus (NVTL) 12.19 +0.22 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.10 better than the First Call consensus of $0.10; revenues rose 12.1% year/year to $94.3 mln vs the $92.6 mln consensus. NVTL reports Q3 gross margins of 31.6% vs 28.3% consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.04-0.12 vs. $0.10 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $85-95 mln vs. $95.69 mln consensus. NVTL sees Q4 gross margins of 28-30% vs. 28.2% consensus. "Our 12% sequential revenue growth and significant margin improvement was primarily driven by strong demand for our industry-leading MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot platforms, as well as strong core product sales in North America... During the third quarter, MiFi was launched by numerous international carriers and distribution channels as we gained traction with this innovative new product category. Currently, we expect fourth quarter MiFi sales to be similar to third quarter levels as improving sell through catches up to initial stocking orders. We continue to receive new orders for MiFi and are encouraged by new roll outs. In addition, we continue to extend the MiFi platform with new features and functionality, building an ecosystem through organic development and strategic partners. We are actively driving the development of a software and application community that utilizes the power of MiFi."

4:08PM Applied Micro beats by $0.01, beats on revs (AMCC) 8.03 +0.03 : Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.01; revenues fell 23.5% year/year to $49.2 mln vs the $48.7 mln consensus.

4:05PM AXT announces that Raymond A. Low has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (AXTI) 1.92 +0.02 :

4:05PM Maxim Integrated beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (MXIM) 17.86 +0.65 : Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding $0.03 in special items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 13.9% year/year to $449.2 mln vs the $438.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $450-465 mln vs. $454.81 mln consensus.

4:04PM Nanometrics beats by $0.14, beats on revs (NANO) 7.21 -0.03 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.14 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.06); revenues rose 11.5% year/year to $25.8 mln vs the $21.1 mln consensus. Co said, "Looking ahead, we see continued improvements in our served markets and further growth in revenues, albeit at a slower rate than what we have achieved in the last two quarters. Our business is on a positive trajectory, with momentum building for continued success in our served markets and improved operational and financial performance."

8:06AM Motorola beats by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus (MOT) 7.96 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.00); revenues fell 27.1% year/year to $5.45 bln vs the $5.54 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.07-0.09, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.06 consensus. Co said, "We delivered on our commitment to improve the financial performance of Mobile Devices and to commercially launch two smartphones in time for the fourth- quarter holiday season. The introductions of our new products powered by Android are important milestones as we begin to address the mobilization of the Internet and the growing demand for modern smartphones. Next year, we will continue to expand our smartphone portfolio and deliver improved financial results."

7:39AM Am Superconductor beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (AMSC) 28.84 : Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.13; revenues rose 85.0% year/year to $74.7 mln vs the $69 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $0.59-0.64, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.47 consensus; sees FY10 revs of $300-310 mln vs. $272.25 mln consensus. Raises gross margin guidance for FY10 to 34-35% from 32-34%. "We expect to increase revenues quarter over quarter through the remainder of fiscal 2009," Henry continued. "We now expect to generate a GAAP profit in the third fiscal quarter, whereas we previously forecasted the potential for a small GAAP net loss. Non-GAAP earnings per share for the third fiscal quarter are expected to be approximately half of our second-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share (approx $0.09-0.10 compared to First Call consensus of $0.09) due to lower-margin shipments and a planned increase in operating expenses to support future growth. Earnings are expected to increase again in our fourth fiscal quarter, consistent with our current full fiscal year forecast."

3:55AM Taiwan Semi reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; issues upside revenue guidance for Q4 (TSM) 9.62 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.18 per ADR, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 8.1% year/year to $2.74 bln vs the $2.76 bln consensus. Gross margin was 47.7%, 1.5% higher than 2Q09 and 1.4% higher than 3Q08. Operating margin was 35.6%, 1.7% higher than 2Q09 and 0.2% higher than 3Q08. Co issues upside guidance for Q409, sees revenue of NT90.0-92.0 bln vs NT$85.76 bln consensus. Co sees GPM of 47.0-48.5% and operating margin of 35.5-37.0%.