From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : A decent start to earnings season couldn't keep away a mid-session selling effort that threatened to steal gains, but support at the neutral line helped stocks rebound for a modest advance.
Alcoa (AA 16.33, -0.16), the first member of the Dow to post results for the latest quarter, reported last evening better-than-expected earnings. However, the stock was hit with some profit taking. Alcoa's report precedes the latest from fellow blue chips Intel (INTC 21.05, +0.36) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 43.60, +0.20), both of which are scheduled to report later this week.
A barrage of earnings reports awaits investors next week. Ahead of that, Sears Holding (SHLD 75.03, +4.43), Stryker (SYK 58.00, +3.30), and Tiffany & Co. (TIF 60.56, -0.38) each issued pleasing projections.
While investors will take close note of earnings quality and the optimism underpinning forecasts, a watchful eye will remain on the eurozone and countries in its periphery. Given concerns about the health of sovereign debt there, successful debt auctions from Greece and Italy (Portugal and Germany conduct their own tomorrow) helped lift Europe's major bourses and provide a positive backdrop to domestic trade.
Early buying translated into solid gains, such that the Nasdaq Composite actually set a new two-year high shortly after the open. Sudden selling in afternoon trade undercut stocks, but support at the neutral line helped the broader market make a nice bounce into the close.
Energy stocks steadily outperformed. The sector settled with a 1.6% gain. That was partly owed to a spike in oil prices, which advanced more than 2% to settle above $91 per barrel.
Telecom was at the opposite end of things. Persistent pressure against that space left the sector to lose another 1.5% today.
Advancing Sectors: Energy (+1.6%), Materials (+0.8%), Health Care (+0.6%), Financials (+0.5%), Industrials (+0.3%), Tech (+0.2%), Utilities (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Telecom (-1.5%), Consumer Staples (-0.1%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.1%)DJ30 +34.43 NASDAQ +9.03 NQ100 +0.2% R2K +0.4% SP400 +0.4% SP500 +4.73 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1647/1.91 bln/972 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1756/940 mln/1213
4:16PM Evergreen Solar (ESLRD) to close Devens manufacturing facility; shipments for Q4 of 2010 increased to ~47% megawatts, a new company record (ESLR) 3.15 -0.09 : Co announced its intent to shut down operations at its Devens manufacturing facility to better position the co to pursue its industry standard size wafer strategy and preserve the co's liquidity. The co also provided updates on its industry standard wafer development activities and selected preliminary results for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2010. The co intends to completely shut down the Devens manufacturing facility by the end of Q1 of 2011. As a result of the closure of the Devens manufacturing facility, the co expects to incur non-cash charges of ~$340 mln associated with the write-off of existing building, facilities and equipment. Furthermore, ~$150 mln of intangible and cash-related prepayments associated with various silicon contracts are under review to determine whether additional non-cash charges will be required. These charges are expected to impact both the Q4 of 2010 and Q1 of 2011, and the amount of the charges will be determined during the co's preparation of its annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010. Co announces selct Q4 results: Shipments for Q4 of 2010 increased to ~47 megawatts, a new co record, at an average selling price of ~$1.90 per watt.
10:42AM FSI Intl receives ANTARES order from Asian Foundry (FSII) 3.96 -0.05 : The system is expected to ship in January 2011
8:41AM Trina Solar signs supplemental long term wafer and polysilicon supply agreement with GCL-Poly (TSL) 25.62 : Co announces through its subsidiary, Changzhou Trina Solar Energy has signed a supplemental long-term wafer and polysilicon product supply agreement with GCL Solar Energy Technology, a subsidiary of GCL-Poly Energy. Under the terms of the supplemental agreement and existing agreements, GCL-Poly is expected to supply Trina Solar with wafers and polysilicon sufficient to produce ~7,500 MW of solar modules in aggregate over five years. Delivery of the wafers and polysilicon at predetermined prices will commence from January 2011 to December 2015. Terms of the agreement also contain a price adjustment clause.
7:40AM Emcore awarded solar panel manufacturing contract by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for the magnetospheric multiscale mission valued at ~$10 mln (EMKR) 1.24 :
7:01AM Rudolph Tech received multiple orders for its NSX Inspection System from a major European semiconductor manufacturer (RTEC) 8.30 : The equipment will be used in back-end manufacturing for high-throughput inspection of automotive semiconductor devices at key points in the process. Shipments will commence in 1Q11 and continue through 2Q11.
08:16 am Advanced Micro Advanced Micro: CEO departure reflects ongoing difficulties - Auriga: . Auriga maintain their Sell rating and $5 tgt on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) following the resignation of president and CEO Dirk Meyer and the announcement of preliminary CQ410 results that were slightly above prior guidance and in line with their ests. Consensus is clearly negative on AMD's ability to execute, but our work (and Mr. Meyer's resignation) suggests these concerns might even be worse than many fear. With the 32nm ramp at GlobalFoundries delayed, and the ability to value-price Fusion products in some doubt, they see no reason to move off their negative bias.
09:50 am AMD CEO Resigns, Reaffirms 2011 Guidance (AMD)
Advanced Micro (AMD $8.64 -0.55) sees preliminary fourth quarter revs $1.65 billion versus the $1.62 billion Thomson Reuters consensus>
Fourth quarter gross margins of approx 45% versus 45.4% Thomson Reuters consensus.
The company announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Senior Vice President and CFO Thomas Seifert, 47, as interim CEO following the resignation of Dirk Meyer, 49, as president, CEO and a director of the company effective immediately.
A CEO Search Committee has been formed to begin the search for a new CEO. In addition, the company reaffirms its 2011 annual financial guidance as disclosed at its Financial Analyst Day last November.
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