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From Briefing.com: 4:35 pm : Woes over the fiscal health of select European nations and some disappointing jobless claims numbers fueled a selling frenzy that culminated in the market's worst single-session percentage loss since April.

Concerns for the fiscal health of Portugal, Greece, and Spain in the wake of some tepid bond auction results stirred early selling interest, which intensified with news that initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 30 increased more than expected week-over-week to 480,000. Continuing claims remained steady week-over-week at 4.60 million, but that was still higher than the consensus call for 4.58 million continuing claims.

Disappointment over the headlines led global participants to seek safety in the dollar, which spiked 0.7% to a new six-month high.

Participants wanted little to do with equities, though. In turn, 97% of the issues listed in the S&P 500 logged a loss, which drove the broad-market measure to its lowest close in nearly three months. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped below 10,000 for the first time since early November, but settled just above that psychologically significant line. Cisco (CSCO 23.16, +0.09) was the only Dow component to book a gain, thanks to its better-than-expected earnings and strong guidance.

Visa (V 83.05, -0.47) also exceeded earnings expectations and reaffirmed its outlook for growth, but its shares rolled over from a strong gain in the early going to join peer MasterCard (MA 222.11, -25.47) in the red. MasterCard missed Wall Street's consensus earnings estimate for the latest quarter. The stock was one of the weakest names in the financial sector, which fell 4.2%, worse than any other major sector.

Natural resource plays had been among the poorest performers for most of the session. Their losses were linked to broader market weakness and sharp losses in the commodity complex, which dragged down the CRB Commodity Index to a new three-month low and a 2.6% loss for the session.

Weakness among commodities was broad based as oil prices plummeted 5.0% to $73.14 per barrel. Prices haven't fallen by such a sharp percentage since summer. Meanwhile, gold prices were pushed 4.3% lower to $1064 per ounce -- December marked the last time that gold fell by more than 4%.

Volatility spiked amid this session's sell-off. That resulted in a near 21% rise in the Volatility Index, which is often dubbed the VIX, or more ominously the Fear Index.

Retailers mostly made up the handful of names to book gains in the broader market. That was largely the result of several upbeat same-store sales reports for January. Still, retailers fell a collective 2.3%.

As if the breadth of this session's slide wasn't telling enough of conviction, trading volume on the NYSE came close to 1.5 billion shares, which is well above its 50-day and 200-day moving average.

While this session's sell-off will weaken sentiment in the broader market, participants still have yet to see the latest nonfarm payrolls report, which often brings volatility all on its own. The nonfarm payrolls report for January is scheduled to be released Friday morning at 8:30 ET.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Financials (-4.2%), Energy (-3.9%), Materials (-3.8%), Industrials (-3.1%), Tech (-2.9%), Consumer Discretionary (-2.9%), Utilities (-2.6%), Health Care (-2.6%), Telecom (-2.4%), Consumer Staples (-2.3%)DJ30 -268.37 NASDAQ -65.48 NQ100 -2.9% R2K -3.4% SP400 -3.2% SP500 -34.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 366/2.78 bln/2319 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 272/1.48 bln/2842

6:29PM Silicon Storage reports Q4 EPS of $0.02 vs. ($0.38) in the prior year; revs grew 2.2% to $72.9 mln (SSTI) 2.84 -0.01 :

4:41PM Advanced Analogic Tech reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q1 revs above consensus (AATI) 3.49 +0.01 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.05 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of ($0.05); revenues rose 11.8% year/year to $20.8 mln vs the $20.7 mln consensus. Co reported gross margins of 47.6% for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to 38.0% for the fourth quarter of 2008 and 51.2% for the third quarter of 2009. Non-GAAP gross margin was 48.1% for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to 43.3% for the fourth quarter of 2008 and 51.7% for the third quarter of 2009. The Company ended the fourth quarter of 2009 with $102.0 mln in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. Co issues guidance for Q1, sees EPS of ($0.12) - ($0.10), may not be comparable to ($0.07) consensus; sees Q1 revs of $21 mln-$23 mln vs. $19.67 mln consensus. The first quarter 2010 estimates include pre-tax quarterly share-based compensation expense in the range of $1.4 to $1.6 mln

4:34PM Harmonic beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides 1H10 above consensus; announces retirement of CFO (HLIT) 5.90 -0.17 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.05; revenues fell 10.5% year/year to $86.7 mln vs the $83.9 mln consensus. Co issues upside 1H10 guidance, anticipates that net sales for the first half of 2010 will be in a range of $170.0-180.0 million vs the $166.5 mln consensus. Non-GAAP gross margins and operating expenses for the first half of 2010, which exclude charges for stock-based compensation and the amortization of intangibles, are anticipated to be in a range of 48% to 49% and $66.5 to $68.5 million, respectively. Total bookings in the fourth quarter of 2009 were $107.6 million, up from $79.9 million in the third quarter. For the full year 2009, net sales were $319.6 million, compared to $365.0 million in 2008. International sales represented 50% of net sales for the fourth quarter and 49% for the full year of 2009, up from 47% and 44%, respectively, for the same periods in 2008. In 2009, the co's 10 largest customers contributed 47% of net sales, compared to 58% in 2008. CFO Dickson announces plans to retire, the search for a new CFO has begun.

4:17PM KLA-Tencor declares quarterly dividend of $0.15/share and resumes stock buyback program under which 9.8 mln shares are available for repurchase (KLAC) 28.31 -0.98 :

4:16PM MTS Systems misses by $0.03, misses on revs (MTSC) 3.17 -0.51 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.03 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.26; revenues fell 23.7% year/year to $89 mln vs the $91.5 mln consensus. "As we look forward, there are several aspects of our business and the market that support our cautious sense of optimism. First, overall market conditions remained relatively unchanged during the quarter and this sense of ongoing stability is reassuring. Second, the expense-reduction and efficiency initiatives implemented over the past several quarters successfully aligned our cost structure with this environment. Third, we are encouraged that our shorter-cycle Sensors segment, which was more immediately impacted by the economic downturn at its onset, is achieving margin results similar to pre-recession levels."

4:10PM Powerwave misses by $0.02, misses on revs (PWAV) 1.35 -0.06 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.01 per share, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.03; revenues fell 20.9% year/year to $142.6 mln vs the $148.3 mln consensus.

4:10PM Monolithic Power beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs above consensus (MPWR) 18.98 -0.89 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.19; revenues rose 34.0% year/year to $46.5 mln vs the $45.2 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $45-$49 vs. $41.86 mln consensus. Co also sees gross margin flat to slightly down from 4Q09; Research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses between $19.2 mln and $20.6 mln; and Non-GAAP research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses between $16.0 mln and $17.0 mln. This excludes an estimate of stock-based compensation expense in the range of $3.2 mln to $3.6 mln.

4:07PM TTM Tech misses by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (TTMI) 9.77 -0.38 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.14 per share, excluding charges related to previously announced plant closures and the Meadville Holdings transaction, $0.03 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.17; revenues fell 9.1% year/year to $149.9 mln vs the $145.4 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.06-0.11 vs. $0.18 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $132-140 mln vs. $145.05 mln consensus.

12:52PM Semiconductors Hldrs Trust range trade near support, 200 day follows (SMH) 24.47 -1.03 : Noted support at 24.45 in The Technical Take and have seen the SMH stabilize near this level over the last hour (session low 24.44). Intraday needs to sustain a push through 24.55 and 24.70 to begin to improve the bias. Next support on a failure is at its 200 day sma at 24.29.

8:30AM On The Wires : Ultratech (UTEK) announces that it has received a follow-on, multiple-system order for its laser spike anneal tools from a major foundry in Asia. Ultratech's LSA100A systems will be used to support high-volume production for advanced logic devices in 2010...

8:13AM On The Wires (OPNEX) : Ultratech (UTEK) announces that it has received a follow-on, multiple-system order for its laser spike anneal tools from a major foundry in Asia. Ultratech's LSA100A systems will be used to support high-volume production for advanced logic devices in 2010...

8:03AM Power Integrations beats by $0.01, beats on revs (POWI) 32.07 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.41; revenues rose 10.2% year/year to $66.1 mln vs the $64.6 mln consensus.

8:00AM Trina Solar announces sales agreement with AE Photonics in Germany (TSL) 24.22 : Co announces it has entered into an agreement with AE Photonics of Germany for 40 MW of PV modules to be delivered during 2010. Under the terms of the agreement a total of 20 MW will be shipped during the first half of 2010 with agreed prices for the first quarter. Initial shipments commenced in January 2010.

7:16AM Benchmark Elec beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS and revs above consensus (BHE) 18.76 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.29 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 3.1% year/year to $600 mln vs the $552.4 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.28-0.32, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.24 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $580-620 mln vs. $537.11 mln consensus. Operating margin for the fourth quarter was 3.5%, excluding restructuring charges. "I am pleased with the solid performance of our team in the fourth quarter. The strong demand from our existing customers as well as the progress of our new program ramps contributed to an 18% sequential increase in revenues over the third quarter. Our fourth quarter revenue and operating margin improvements were achieved in the face of numerous challenges, including the inefficiencies caused by component lead time constraints. We have gained significant momentum in new business bookings and program ramps and are well positioned to continue to gain share in our key markets."