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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : A drop by the dollar and another big batch of better-than-expected earnings announcements helped stocks recover from the prior session's slide, though some of the stock market's gain faded into the close.

The dollar surged 1.7% in the prior session, but was dumped this session for a 1.3% loss in what appeared to be a diminished sense of risk aversion.

That said, support for commodity-backed stocks and basic materials plays drove the materials sector to a 2.0% gain, which was the best of any major sector. All 31 members in the materials sector advanced.

Shares of airlines staged some of the biggest gains. As such, AMR Corp (AMR 7.36, +0.84), US Airways (LCC 10.84, +0.75), and Delta Air Lines (DAL 12.97, +1.27) helped drive the Amex Airline Index to a 5.3% gain and its highest level in almost three years. All three air carriers reported better-than-expected earnings.

Internet search outfit Yahoo! (YHOO 15.80, +0.31) also reported an upside earnings surprise, but it issued a rather weak forecast. Dow components United Technologies (UTX 73.92, +0.31) and Boeing (BA 71.36, +2.31) both posted upside earnings surprises. Each improved its earnings outlook, too.

Financials finished with a 1.1% gain after being down as much as 0.7% amid an earnings miss from regional lender Comerica (CMA 35.94, -2.45) and a messy report from Morgan Stanley (MS 25.38, -0.01). Shares of MS successfully recovered from their loss, but could not quite finish in higher ground. Meanwhile, US Bancorp (USB 22.83, +0.02) finished flat and Wells Fargo (WFC 25.60, +1.05) spiked. Both of bested bottom line expectations. BlackRock (BLK 169.51, -5.12) also posted better-than-expected earnings, but its shares fell for the fourth time in five sessions.

Amid an improved tone of trade and the dollar's downturn, commodities recovered from their selloff in the prior session. More specifically, the CRB Commodity Index dropped 1.9% in the prior session for its worst loss since June, but rebounded to a 2.1% gain today. The move was largely led by oil prices, which bounced 2.9% to $82.52 per barrel. A smaller-than-expected build in weekly oil inventories helped.

Little was made of the Fed's latest Beige Book, which was the only item on today's economic calendar. According to data from the twelve Fed Districts, national economic activity continued to rise, albeit at a modest pace, from September to early October.

Advancing Sectors: Materials (+2.0%), Energy (+1.4%), Telecom (+1.4%), Industrials (+1.3%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.2%), Financials (+1.1%), Tech (+0.8%), Utilities (+0.8%), Health Care (+0.8%), Consumer Staples (+0.6%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +129.35 NASDAQ +20.44 NQ100 +0.8% R2K +1.2% SP400 +1.3% SP500 +12.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1867/2.04 bln/770 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2283/1.10 bln/716

4:47PM Mattson reports 3Q10 net loss per share of ($0.13) vs. ($0.11) Thomson Reuters consensus; revenue increased 255% y/y to $39.8 mln vs $39.1 mln consensus (MTSN) 2.84 -0.03 :

4:40PM Mattson shipped the paradigmE etch system to semiconductor manufacturer; co expects production revenues to begin in 2H of 2011 (MTSN) 2.84 -0.03 :

4:26PM Xilinx reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q3 revs below consensus (XLNX) 26.01 -0.32 : Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.65 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.65; revenues rose 49.3% year/year to $619.7 mln vs the $626.3 mln consensus. Reports 2Q11 gross margin of 65.6% vs. the 65.0% consensus and 64-66% guidance. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 rev flat to -4% QoQ, which equates to $594.9-619.7 mln vs. $622.62 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Sees gross margin of ~64-66% vs. the 65.0% consensus.

4:08PM Intersil beats by $0.07, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs below consensus (ISIL) 11.85 +0.16 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.28 per share, ex-items, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 30.2% year/year to $219.1 mln vs the $231 mln consensus. Gross margin for the third quarter increased to a record 58.9%, compared with gross margin of 54.6% in the same quarter last year, and 58.3% in the second quarter of 2010. Co issues mixed guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.21-$0.24, ex-items, vs. $0.23 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q4 revs of $202-$214 mln vs. $230.67 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:06PM Seagate Tech misses by $0.08, reports revs in-line; will not provide guidance due to preliminary indication of interest on going private transaction (STX) 15.21 : Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.37 per share, $0.08 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.45; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $2.7 bln vs the $2.72 bln consensus. Due to regulatory requirements the company will not at this time be providing any additional information concerning the preliminary indication of interest regarding a going private transaction that was disclosed on October 14, 2010, and the company will not provide, discuss or answer questions regarding the outlook for the December quarter or any future fiscal periods.

7:02AM ATMI beats by $0.01, beats on revs (ATMI) 15.75 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.25 per share, excluding a $0.05 gain, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 30.8% year/year to $95 mln vs the $92.9 mln consensus.

09:50 am CREE Guides Q2 Revs Below Consensus (CREE)

Cree (CREE 48.74 -4.26) reported first quarter earnings of $0.60 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.58.

Revenues rose 58.7% year-over-year to $268.4 million, below the $277.7 million consensus.

Cree reports first quarter gross margins of 48.6% versus Street estimates of 48.4%.

The company second quarter issued earnings guidance of $0.56 to $0.60 per share versus $0.60 Thomson Reuters consensus. On the top line, the company issued revenue guidance of $270 million to $280 million versus $297.04 million Thomson Reuters consensus.

The company said, "Q1 was another record quarter for Cree as revenue grew in lighting, LED components and power products... Although total revenue was on the low end of our target range of $270 million to $280 million due to a decline in LED chips, LED lighting adoption continues to gain momentum and the growth drivers for the company remain on track."