From Briefing.com: 4:25 pm : There weren't any catalysts for trade this session, but stocks still made their way solidly higher. Participation was paltry ahead of the FOMC rate decision, though.
Stocks spent the session in the green, but there was never really a leader among them. Instead, gains were broad and varied.
Telecom made the best move. It finished 1.1% higher, though the sector's lack of market weight meant that its strength had little influence on overall trade.
Tech stocks, which is the largest sector by market weight, struggled in the early going, but eventually caught up with the broader market. The sector settled with a 0.5% gain, but computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 42.60, -3.70) remained near 52-week lows following news that the company's CEO will step down amid sexual harassment claims. The ignominy of situation completely overshadowed the company's upside guidance.
Stocks encountered some choppy price action into the close, such that the major indices finished shy of their session highs. Despite that, stocks were still able to book their best closing levels of the past month. The improvement was fractional, though.
Trade also lacked conviction. That was made evident by the paltry 790 million shares that exchanged hands on the NYSE today. It was the lowest share count all year.
Many point to tomorrow's FOMC decision as a primary reason that traders opted to stay on the sidelines. The consensus is that the FOMC will keep its target interest rate in a range of 0.00% to 0.25%, but many are concerned that the Fed might change the verbiage in its directive.
The greenback gained 0.3% against a basket of foreign currencies ahead of the FOMC decision. Most of that move came at the euro's expense, which directly dropped 0.4% against the dollar.
Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.1%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.9%), Energy (+0.6%), Financials (+0.6%), Industrials (+0.6%), Tech (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.5%), Utilities (+0.4%), Materials (+0.4%), Health Care (+0.3%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +45.19 NASDAQ +17.22 NQ100 +0.7% R2K +1.4% SP400 +1.0% SP500 +6.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1763/1.62 bln/880 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2199/789 mln/830
6:30PM Zoltek beats by $0.03, beats on revs (ZOLT) 10.28 : Reports Q3 (Jun) loss of $0.01 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.04); revenues rose 39.9% year/year to $42.4 mln vs the $34.2 mln consensus.
6:28PM Plexus confirms fire in Oradea, Romania facility (PLXS) 29.61 +0.19 : Co announced that a fire broke out in one of its two manufacturing buildings in Oradea, Romania. The fire occurred after production hours while the building was unoccupied. Although the fire was limited to a portion of non-production space, operations within this building will suspend until at least Thursday morning (local time) to provide sufficient time to complete a full assessment of the damage.
Marvell (MRVL) and HARMAN (HAR) announced they are enabling automakers to offer integrated Wi-Fi connectivity via award-winning Marvell Mobile Hotspot technology.
8:05AM RF Monolithics announces modification of ViewPoint Bank credit facility (RFMI) 1.32 : Co announced it has entered into a modification of the existing loan agreement to extend the deadline for raising $700,000 in new capital until September 30, 2010. In the modification, RFM confirmed that it is currently in compliance with the loan agreement. Co indicated that it expects to comply with the new capital requirement before the new deadline.
6:25AM Sunpower signs euro 48 mln definitive sale agreement for Italian power plants (SPWRA) 12.82 : Co announces that Etrion Corporation has signed a euro 48 mln definitive sale and purchase agreement to acquire the equity in the first two phases of the Montalto di Castro solar photovoltaic (PV) power park, the largest in Italy. The acquisition of the 20-megawatt (MW) first phase of the project for euro 36 million has been completed. The acquisition of the 8 MW second phase for euro 12 million remains subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of the third quarter, 2010.
6:15AM Solarfun Power announces expansion of its marketing and customer support team to bolster business growth in the United States (SOLF) 10.66 :
09:39 am HPQ CEO Resigns Following Sexual Harrassment Charge (HPQ)
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 43.51 -2.79) announced that Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Hurd has decided with the Board of Directors to resign his positions effective immediately.
The Board has appointed CFO Cathie Lesjak, 51, as CEO on an interim basis. Lesjak is a 24-year veteran of the company who has served as HP's CFO and as a member of the company's Executive Council since January 2007. She oversees all company financial matters and will retain her CFO responsibilities during the interim period. Hurd's decision was made following an investigation by outside legal counsel and the General Counsel's Office, overseen by the Board, of the facts and circumstances surrounding a claim of sexual harassment against Hurd and HP by a former contractor to HP.
The investigation determined there was no violation of HP's sexual harassment policy, but did find violations of HP's Standards of Business Conduct. Lesjak has taken herself out of consideration as the permanent CEO but will serve as interim CEO until the selection process is complete. The selection of a new chairman will occur in conjunction with the CEO decision.
Also, the company raised its earnings guidance for its third quarter to approx. $1.08 per share versus the $1.07 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $1.05 to $1.07. For its fourth quarter, the company issues earnings guidance of $1.25 to $1.27, in-line with the $1.26 Thomson Reuters consensus. On the top line, the company sees revenue falling in the range of $32.5 billion to $32.7 billion versus $32.63 billion Thomson Reuters consensus.
For its fiscal year 2010, the company raised earnings guidance to $4.49 to $4.51 per share, in-line with the $4.49 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $4.45 to $4.50 previously. The company expects revenues to be $125.3 billion to $125.5 billion, above the $124.52 billion Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $123.7 billion to $124.9 billion previously.
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