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From Briefing.com: 4:25 pm : A drop by the dollar brought buyers in from the sidelines after stocks had fallen for three straight sessions. Early support helped the S&P 500 come within just a couple of points of a new 2009 high, but resistance at current highs left stocks to gradually pare gains for the remainder of the session.

The Dollar Index erased its gains from the previous two sessions with a 0.6% fall. Indian Prime Minister Singh offered support for the greenback, but comments by Chicago Fed President Evans and St. Louis Fed President Bullard stirred selling pressure against the currency. Evans made it known that he thinks near-zero interest rates will remain well into 2010, while Bullard wants to keep the Fed's Mortgage-Backed Securities program active beyond the first quarter of 2010.

There weren't many market-moving headlines for participants to digest this session, though the latest home sales figures proved pleasing. Existing home sales for October made a sharp 10.1% month-over-month spike, which lifted sales to an annualized rate of 6.10 million units. The consensus had called for a 2.3% monthly increase to an annual rate of 5.70 million units. The stronger-than-expected increase in sales took supply down to 7.0 months, the lowest since February 2007.

All 10 major sectors were able to put together solid gains as a result of broad-based support. Telecom settled with the best gains; it advanced 2.6% after AT&T (T 26.78, +0.76) received positive coverage by Barron's.

The energy sector had been a leader in the early going. It had benefited from broader market support and a sharp rise in oil prices, which were also bolstered by the dollar's downturn. However, energy surrendered some of its advance to finish with a 1.6% gain as oil prices pulled back to settle with a fractional gain at $77.52 per barrel.

Gold prices maintained steady strength, though. The precious metal ascended to a new all-time high at $1174.00 per ounce and closed with a 1.6% gain at $1164.80 per ounce. That sent gold stocks up 2.1% and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 114.29, +1.35) up solidly.

Treasuries were able to resist an early selling effort and finish fractionally higher. That put the yield on the benchmark 10-year at 3.35%, while the yield on the 2-year stands at 0.72%. Treasuries came into closer focus with the results of a $44 billion auction of 2-year Treasuries. The auction drew a yield of 0.80% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.16, which is better than recent averages.

Overall trading volume on the NYSE was well below the 50-day moving average of 1.28 billion shares. The light action is expected to continue with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up on Thursday.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+2.6%), Tech (+1.6%), Energy (+1.6%), Industrials (+1.5%), Financials (+1.5%), Utilities (+1.4%), Health Care (+1.1%), Consumer Staples (+1.0%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.9%), Materials (+0.9%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +132.79 NASDAQ +29.97 SP500 +14.86 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1911/1.86 bln/772 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2343/980 mln/665

4:15PM TranSwitch announces one-for-eight reverse stock split (TXCC) 0.34 :

4:14PM Hewlett-Packard experiencing muted reaction to earnings, trading down 0.20 in after hours to $50.80 (HPQ) 51.02 +0.98 : Note: Company preannounced on Nov. 11

4:11PM Rambus comments on order in price-fixing case (RMBS) 16.72 -1.38 : The co announces that Judge Richard Kramer of the San Francisco Superior Court has issued recommendations that the Rambus antitrust case against certain memory manufacturers and the Tessera Technologies (TSRA) antitrust case against Hynix be coordinated and assigned to the San Francisco Superior Court. "At the hearing regarding coordination on November 6, 2009, Judge Kramer made clear that he would recommend coordination so long as it does not delay the commencement of the Rambus antitrust jury trial on January 11, 2010," said Thomas Lavelle, senior vice president and general counsel of Rambus. "Consistent with those statements, we are preparing to start our trial in January and we look forward to confirmation from Judge Kramer when he returns to court next week."

4:11PM Advanced Micro announces pricing of private offering of $500 mln of senior notes (AMD) 6.99 +0.04 : Co announced that it has agreed to sell $500 mln aggregate principal amount of its 8.125% Senior Notes due 2017 in a private offering. AMD intends to close the transaction on November 30, 2009. AMD estimates that the net proceeds from the issuance and sale of the senior notes will be ~$439 mln after deducting original issue discount of 10.204%, the initial purchasers' discounts and estimated transactions expenses. AMD intends to use the net proceeds, along with existing cash, to purchase its 5.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2012 validly tendered pursuant to the company's tender offer for such notes, which was previously announced. Net proceeds not used in the tender offer, if any, will be used for general corporate purposes.

4:09PM Hewlett-Packard reports results in-line with November 11 preannouncement; reaffirms Q1 and recently raised FY10 outlook (HPQ) 51.02 +0.98 : Hewlett-Packard reports Q4 EPS of $1.14 vs the $1.14 preannouncement on Nov. 11 and the $1.13 consensus; HPQ reports Q4 revs down 8% YoY to $30.8 bln vs the $30.8 bln preannouncement and $30.36 bln consensus. Co reaffirms 1Q10 EPS of $1.03-1.05 vs the $1.04 consensus; revs of $29.6-29.9 bln vs the $29.70 bln consensus. Hewlett-Packard reaffirms recently raised FY10 guidance; sees non-GAAP EPS of $4.25-4.35 vs the $4.31 consensus; revs of $118-119 bln vs the $119.06 bln consensus. Revenue for Q4 was down 17% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 1% in Asia Pacific to $11.7 billion and $5.4 billion, respectively. When adjusted for the effects of currency, revenue was down 1% in the Americas while declining 10% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 1% in Asia Pacific versus the prior-year period. Revenue from outside of the United States in the fourth quarter accounted for 64% of total revenue, with revenue in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) declining 4% over the prior-year period while accounting for 10% of total HP revenue. China revenue increased more than 20% from the prior year. "Relentless focus on driving efficiencies across the business has given HP a significant competitive advantage. Our skill in executing strong acquisitions and integrating them seamlessly improves the value of our portfolio, strengthens the business and contributes to our ability to expand in key growth markets in the future."

4:05PM Hewlett-Packard reports Q4 EPS of $1.14 vs the $1.14 preannouncement on Nov. 11 and the $1.13 consensus (HPQ) 50.96 +0.92 : HPQ reports Q4 revs of $30.8 bln vs the $30.8 bln preannouncement and $30.36 bln consensus.

4:08PM Analog Devices beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (ADI) 27.94 +0.46 : Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $0.36 per share, $0.10 better than the First Call consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 16.3% year/year to $572 mln vs the $523.8 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of 0.36-0.37 vs. $0.28 consensus; sees Q1 revs flat with Q4 levels of $572 mln vs. $532.53 mln consensus. Co sees gross margin for the first quarter increasing to approximately 58.0% to 58.5%, as a result of lower infrastructure costs and a richer mix of industrial sales. Co states, "During the fourth quarter of 2009, order rates from end customers accelerated significantly, growing by approximately 17% sequentially, and as a result, our first quarter opening backlog grew substantially from last quarter. We believe that the atypically strong growth in Q4 was the result of gradual improvements in many economies; customer inventory replenishment; and the benefits ADI is beginning to see from its rich new product cycle as a result of more focused investments over the past few years."

12:45PM Research In Motion sued by Klausner Technologies for patent infringement (RIMM) 60.12 +0.40 : Klausner Technologies announces that it has filed suit against Research in Motion for patent infringement. The lawsuit is based on the recent unveiling by RIM of certain new 3G "BlackBerry Bold 9700" mobile phones which use Klausner Technologies' Visual Voicemail patented technology. Various Blackberry models with the Visual Voicemail feature are already covered under Klausner Technologies Visual Voicemail patent licenses granted to mobile operators.

Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) announces that the Co's expanded ISO/TS 16949 certification now includes its entire Mexicali, Mexico manufacturing facility. Skyworks' 2007 ISO/TS 16949 certification previously covered only certain facets of its Mexicali operations...

8:35AM Integrated Device divests micro networks business for approximately $13 mln (IDTI) 5.97 : Co announces it has signed an agreement to divest its Micro Networks business to Spectrum Control for approximately $13 mln. The transaction, which has already received approval by the IDT Board of Directors, is expected to close by the end of November.

8:02AM First Solar sells California solar power project to NRG; no terms disclosed (FSLR) 121.18 : Co announced the sale of the 21 megawatt (MW) AC solar energy project it has developed and constructed in Blythe, Calif., to NRG Energy. Construction began in September and is expected to be completed by year-end. Electricity from the plant will be sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year power purchase agreement. First Solar will provide operations and maintenance services at Blythe under a long-term contract with NRG. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

7:18AM Tower Semicon signs definitive agreement with Asian entity to provide know-how, training, and turnkey manufacturing solutions at a revenue of $130 million (TSEM) 1.00 :

7:05AM LDK Solar beats by $0.37, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs above consensus (LDK) 8.00 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.37 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.10); revenues rose 23.5% year/year to $281.9 mln vs the $277.2 mln consensus. Gross margin for Q3 was 20.1% (consensus is for 8.2%). Operating margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was 13.2% compared to negative 102.9% in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and 19.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $280-310 mln vs. $258.72 mln consensus, with wafer shipments between 320 MW to 340 MW and module shipments between 20 MW to 30 MW. "We were pleased to see wafer demand strengthen across multiple geographies during the quarter, rebounding from the lower levels seen earlier this year. Our financial results for the third quarter reflect the recent improvement in the operating environment for the solar industry... During the third quarter, we continued to take steps to further strengthen our business."

1:42AM Cabot Microelectronics receives ruling on pending summary judgment motions in patent infringement enforcement action against DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials, LLC (CCMP) 31.08 : Co announces that on November 16, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued its ruling on summary judgment motions, pending in Cabot Microelectronics' ongoing patent infringement litigation against DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials. Cabot Microelectronics believes the Summary Judgment Order will be made accessible by the Court in redacted form, and at such time will be made available electronically by the co. In the Court's Summary Judgment Order, the Court denied a motion filed by DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials for summary judgment of invalidity of three Cabot Microelectronics patents at issue in the case, which are fundamental patents in the field of tungsten CMP. The Court also denied DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials' motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of these patents. In addition, the Court denied DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials' motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of another Cabot Microelectronics patent that is considered to be a foundational CMP patent. The Court also denied Cabot Microelectronics' motion for summary judgment of infringement of the tungsten patents. The Court has ordered the parties to submit pretrial filings by December 16, 2009.

11:28 am LDK Solar (LDK)

LDK Solar (LDK 8.77, +0.77), a China-based manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers used in solar cells, reported earnings that easily topped consensus estimates and issued upside revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.

LDK Solar reported third quarter earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.37 better than the First Call consensus that expected a loss of $0.10 per share.

"We were pleased to see wafer demand strengthen across multiple geographies during the quarter, rebounding from the lower levels seen earlier this year." said CEO Xiaofend Peng. "Our financial results for the third quarter reflect the recent improvement in the operating environment for the solar industry."

LDK Solar issued upside guidance for the fourth quarter, saying it sees revenues between $280 million and $310 million; the current consensus stands at $258.72 million.

Shares of LDK are down nearly 34% year-to-date.

11:11 am Ciena (CIEN)

Ciena (CIEN 12.09, -1.08) announced Monday that it has been selected as the successful bidder in the auction of Nortel's optical networking and Ethernet assets.

Ciena will buy the businesses from Nortel, which declared bankruptcy in January, for $769 million. The offer consists of $530 million in cash and $239 million in convertible notes.

Ciena said it expects the transaction to be significantly accretive to its results in fiscal 2011 and will make employment offers to at least 2,000 Nortel employees.