From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : Disappointment over the latest ADP Employment Report hampered stocks for the entire session, which concluded on a relatively weak note.
Another 23,000 private payrolls were cut in March, according to the most recent ADP Employment Report. Though that was the smallest decline in two years, the news prompted participants to pressure stocks since the addition of 40,000 jobs had been expected.
The surprise drop in payrolls has called into question projections for the official nonfarm payrolls report, which is due Friday and is expected by many to show an increase of 185,000 jobs. Unlike the ADP figure, the government's tally is subject to a weather-related rebound and will include 2010 census workers.
The mood among market participants dwindled further with the midmorning release of the Chicago PMI for March. It came in at 58.8, but the consensus had called for 61.0 after a reading of 62.6 in February.
Though generally disregarded, factory orders figures offered a positive surprise to participants. Orders for February increased 0.6%, which was slightly more than the expected 0.5% increase, while orders for January were revised higher to reflect a 2.5% increase.
Despite that small dose of positive data, participants remained fixated on the ADP numbers. Given that jobs data is a key consideration in the Fed's monetary policy decisions, the slower-than-expected improvement in the jobs picture put added pressure on the dollar, which fell 0.5% against a basket of foreign currencies. Still, the dollar's decline didn't do anything for the broader market this session.
Energy stocks outperformed the broader for the entire session, but couldn't compel the rest of the stock market to follow it. Energy advanced 0.4% amid news that the Obama administration will propose allowing offshore oil and natural gas exploration in part of the Gulf of Mexico. The news drove drillers to a 2.6% gain.
Higher crude oil prices also helped. The price of oil climbed 1.7% to close pit trade at $83.76 per barrel. Contracts had actually encountered some midmorning pressure amid news of a larger-than-expected build of 2.93 million barrels, but it didn't take long before sellers backed off.
Financials made up the only other sector to finish in positive territory. They netted a collective 0.2% gain amid strength in regional banks (+1.4%) and multiline insurers (+1.5%).
Trading volume was rather unimpressive, given that this session marked the the quarter's end. Some expected that a degree of portfolio rebalancing would lead to an increase in share volume at the major exchanges. Instead, volume on the NYSE was in-line with recent averages.
The Fed's planned purchases of up to $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities also came to an end today. The plan's expiration makes for an inflection point in the capital markets.
Advancing Sectors: Energy (+0.4%), Financials (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (-0.8%), Tech (-0.6%), Industrials (-0.6%), Consumer Staples (-0.5%), Materials (-0.5%), Telecom (-0.5%), Utilities (-0.3%), Health Care (-0.3%) DJ30 -50.79 NASDAQ -12.73 NQ100 -0.5% R2K -0.8% SP400 -0.5% SP500 -3.84 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1008/2.37 bln/1668 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1211/1.15 bln/1815
4:30PM Advanced Micro renews patent license agreement with Rambus (AMD) 9.27 unch : RMBS announces AMD has renewed its patent license agreement. The original term of AMD's agreement runs through the end of September this year. The renewal extends the patent license through the third quarter of 2015. Under the agreement, Rambus granted AMD a patent license for its integrated circuit and circuit board products. Under the agreement, AMD will continue to pay Rambus a license fee that will be determined at the end of 2010. This license fee is payable each year in quarterly installments.
4:25PM Research In Motion trades as low as 66.00 in after-hours in reaction to earnings/guidance before bouncing... currently trading -7% at 68.68 (RIMM) 73.97 -0.94 :
4:22PM Research In Motion misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (RIMM) 73.97 -0.94 : Reports Q4 (Feb) earnings of $1.27 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.28; revenues rose 17.9% year/year to $4.08 bln vs the $4.31 bln consensus. Gross margin for the fourth quarter was 45.7% compared to 42.7% in the prior quarter. Reports Q4 net subscriber account additions of 4.9 mln vs guidance of 4.4-4.7 mln; ships 10.5 mln units in Q4 vs guidance of 10.6-11.2 mln and Street est of ~11 mln... Guidance: Co issues upside EPS guidance for Q1, in-line rev guidance. Sees Q1 EPS of $1.31-1.38 vs. $1.22 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $4.25-4.45 bln vs. $4.33 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. RIMM Q1 gross margins is expected to be approx 44.5% compared to Thomson Reuters consensus of 42.9%. Net subscriber account additions in the first quarter are expected to be between 4.9-5.2 million... The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 80% for devices, 16% for service, 2% for software and 2% for other revenue. At the end of the quarter, the total BlackBerry subscriber account base was over 41 million. "RIMM has completed another outstanding fiscal year with record revenue, earnings and subscriber results... We are off to a great start in fiscal 2011 and expect strong shipments, revenue, subscriber and earnings growth in Q1. We are also very excited about our portfolio of products and services for the coming year and we continue to see exceptional opportunity for sustained growth."
4:11PM Micron beats by $0.15, beats on revs (MU) 10.45 -0.34 : Reports Q2 (Feb) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.15 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 97.5% year/year to $1.96 bln vs the $1.82 bln consensus. Revenue from sales of DRAM products increased 24% in Q2 of fiscal 2010 compared to Q1 of FY10 due to a 17 % increase in unit sales volume and a 7% increase in average selling prices. Revenue from sales of NAND Flash products were down slightly in Q2 compared to Q1 due to a slight decrease in average selling prices. The co's gross margin on sales of memory products improved from 27 % in Q1 to 35% in Q2 due to both an overall increase in average selling prices as well as decreases in manufacturing costs.
4:02PM Aehr Test Systems receives order for its MAX Burn-in and test system with individual temperature control (AEHR) 2.68 -0.12 :
Brightpoint (CELL) and Research In Motion (RIMM) announce plans to expand the distribution of BlackBerry smartphones in Indonesia. Brightpoint will provide logistics and supply chain expertise, assisting RIM to expand the national distribution of BlackBerry smartphones through Brighpoint's relationships with local distributors...
7:30AM Sunpower and Sol.In.Build Srl announced an agreement to build seven solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants (SPWRA) 19.23 : The co and Sol.In.Build Srl, a majority owned subsidiary of Veronagest SpA, announced an agreement to build seven solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants totaling 16.5 megawatts in the Sicily region of Italy. Located on a combined total of 63 hectares, the seven plants will range in size from one to 3.5 megawatts, and will be complete by September 2010. Up to 50 jobs are expected to be created during construction. The construction will be financed by a pool of leading Italian and international banks including Societe Generale, Unicredit Medio Credito Centrale and Dexia.
3:23AM On The Wires : AU Optronics (AUO) announces that AUO has signed an MOU with Toshiba Mobile Display Co., Ltd. to purchase 100% shares of AFPD Pte., Ltd. a subsidiary of TMD in Singapore and a manufacturer of LCD panels based on low temperature polysilicon technology... SunPower (SPWRA/SPWRB) and Sol.In.Build Srl, a majority owned subsidiary of Veronagest SpA, announce an agreement to build seven solar photovoltaic power plants totaling 16.5 megawatts in the Sicily region of Italy.
10:04 am FSII Guides Q3 Revenue Above Consensus
FSI International (FSII 3.95, +0.26) reported fiscal second quarter earnings this morning, which beat expectations.
The company reported second quarter earnings of $0.05 per share, excluding $0.03 in stock compensation, $0.02 better than the two estimate average of $0.03.
Revenues rose 119.8% year-over-year to $18.9 million, slightly above the $18.6 million two estimate average.
For the third quarter, the company is expecting revenues of $23 million to $25 million, above the currently $20.79 million two estimate average on orders of $25.0 million to $27.0 million.
Based upon the anticipated gross profit margin and the operating expense run rate, the co expects net income of $2.5 million to $3.0 million versus the $1.3 million two estimate average, for the third quarter of fiscal 2010. The company expects to use $2.0 million-3.0 million of net cash in operating activities in the third quarter, as it manages accounts receivable and inventory levels and supports the higher expected third quarter order and revenue levels.
AI
Market Data 
Markets 
