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From Briefing.com: 4:25 pm : The major equity averages hugged the flat line in early trade as participants prepared for commentary from the Fed and its Chairman, Ben Bernanke. Stocks eventually broke free from their narrow range to extend their recent highs.

Although the stock market has been on an upward trend in recent sessions, traders were apprehensive to chase stocks higher this morning. Their pause preceded the latest FOMC policy statement, which indicated that the Fed expects to keep the Fed Funds Rate -- still at 0.00% to 0.25% -- at exceptionally low rate levels for an extended period. The Fed also noted that the economic recovery is proceeding at a moderate pace, instead of the firmer pace that it had noted in its previous statement.

Fed Chairman Bernanke later indicated in a press conference that the Fed has lowered its GDP forecast for 2011 to the range 3.1% to 3.3%, from 3.4% to 3.9%. The Fed also trimmed the top end of GDP estimates for 2012 and 2013, but narrowed their long-run growth estimate so that it ranges from 2.5% to 2.8%, instead of 2.4% to 3.0%.

Although GDP growth is expected to moderate, Bernanke announced that the Fed expects unemployment in 2011 to be between 8.4% and 8.7%, which is down from the range of 8.8% to 9.0% that had been previously estimated.

The revisions to economic growth and unemployment come ahead of tomorrow's report on first quarter GDP, which is widely expected to show growth of 1.7%. It was learned early this morning that the United Kingdom economy expanded at a 0.5% rate in the first quarter.

Following today's Fedspeak, gold and silver prices made sharp gains into electronic trade. Gold actually set a new record high of roughly $1530 per ounce while silver extended its 30-year high to more than $48 per ounce.

Earnings were generally of secondary interest to the overall market today, but there were some dramatic swings at the individual level.

Amazon.com (AMZN 196.63, +14.33) ascended almost 8% to a record high following its latest quarterly report. Boeing (BA 76.12, +0.57) and WellPoint (WLP 75.54, +2.57) also benefited from a positive response to their quarterly reports; both set fresh 52-week highs.

ConocoPhillips (COP 79.83, -1.38) came short of the consensus earnings estimate. That initially imbued Exxon Mobil (XOM 87.78, +0.36) ahead of its quarterly report tomorrow morning. Although COP couldn't fully recover, shares of XOM rebounded to close within one dollar of their 52-week high. International integrated plays BP Plc (BP 46.53, +0.21) and CNOOC (CEO 250.71, -2.55) finished in mixed fashion, though.

The overall energy sector managed to fully erase a loss of more than 1%. Hess (HES 82.74, +2.07) and Baker Hughes (BHI 77.28, +3.22 were leaders, thanks to stronger-than-expected earnings. Shares of BHI actually hit a 52-week high.

Broadcom (BRCM 35.45, -4.96) also had an upside earnings surprise for the latest quarter, but that mattered little in light of the company's disappointing forecast. In turn, the stock dropped to a six-month low.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.3%), Health Care (+1.2%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.1%), Utilities (+0.8%), Financials (+0.6%), Industrials (+0.6%), Tech (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.5%), Materials (+0.2%)
Unchanged: Energy
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +95.59 NASDAQ +22.34 NQ100 +0.7% R2K +0.6% SP400 +0.6% SP500 +8.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1618/2.08 bln/956 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1932/959 mln/1041

6:10PM Teradyne beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs below consensus (TER) 18.29 +0.07 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 18.1% year/year to $377.2 mln vs the $366.3 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.38-0.44, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.44 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $375-400 mln vs. $401.80 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

5:49PM Parametric beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS in-line, revs in-line (PMTC) 24.26 +0.33 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.26 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.25; revenues rose 11.9% year/year to $269.2 mln vs the $266.7 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.28-0.32, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.30 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $275-285 mln vs. $276.49 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.20-1.25, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.22 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $1.12-1.13 bln vs. $1.12 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:42PM Evergreen Solar says near term liquidity has been negatively impacted and may require us to secure additional sources of cash sooner than expected (ESLR) 2.08 -0.07 : Co announced shipments for the first quarter of 2011 were approximately 18 megawatts at an average selling price of $1.86 per watt, compared to fourth quarter 2010 shipments of approximately 47 megawatts at an average selling price of $1.90. Through April 26, the Company has shipped an additional 6 MW at an average selling price of $1.86 per watt. Cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, as of April 2, 2011 were approximately $38.5 million and were approximately $33 million at April 26, after making the Company's scheduled interest payment of $10.75 million on April 15 to holders of the Company's 13% Senior Secured Convertible Notes due 2015. "Uncertainties regarding feed-in-tariffs and other subsidy programs have substantially slowed the demand for solar panels in 2011. While the first quarter has historically been slow for the industry, the sluggish demand has unexpectedly continued early into the second quarter... As a result of our low year to date sales volume and potentially slower sales for the remainder of this year as the industry balances inventory levels, along with significantly increased pricing pressure, the cash that we had previously expected to realize through the reduction in accounts receivable and inventory from our recently closed Devens facility will be less than expected and will take longer than expected to realize. Therefore, our near term liquidity has been negatively impacted and may require us to secure additional sources of cash sooner than expected. Accordingly, we will continue to aggressively pursue opportunities to address our capital structure in the near term, including restructuring our existing debt, in order to significantly deleverage and better position ourselves to secure additional financing and execute our strategy of developing and supplying the lowest cost industry standard sized wafers to the world's leading solar module manufacturers."

4:34PM Mattson reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (MTSN) 2.42 +0.07 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.12 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.12); revenues rose 13.8% year/year to $47 mln vs the $41.2 mln consensus.

4:32PM MagnaChip reports Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $0.40 vs $0.52 a year ago; revs rose 4.7% Yoy to $187.9 mln, no ests yet for this recent IPO (MX) 13.98 -0.05 : Co expects Q2 revenue to rise 5-9% sequentially which computes to $197-205 mln, no estimates.

4:28PM Flextronics misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (FLEX) 7.51 +0.04 : Reports Q4 (Mar) adjusted earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.22; revenues rose 15.5% year/year to $6.86 bln vs the $7.28 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.20-$0.23 vs. $0.23 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $7.10-7.60 bln vs. $7.61 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:24PM Xilinx beats by $0.07, beats on revs; sees Q1 sales above consensus (XLNX) 32.86 +0.36 : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.59 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.52; revenues rose 11.1% year/year to $587.9 mln vs the $579.7 mln consensus. Co sees Q1 sales flat to +4% QoQ from $587.9 mlnvs. consensus call for +1% from $579.7 mln, with gross margin of ~64-65% vs. 65.0% consensus.

4:24PM LSI Logic reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line (LSI) 6.90 -0.03 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.10; revenues, including discontinued operations, fell 1.3% year/year to $629 mln vs the $622.7 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.07-0.13 vs. $0.11 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $465-495 mln, may not be comparable to $635.59 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:20PM Intersil reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (ISIL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) GAAP earnings of $0.11 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 5.0% year/year to $198.9 mln vs the $197.1 mln consensus. Co sees Q2 GAAP EPS of $0.15-0.18 vs. $0.15 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $204-212 mln vs. $208.68 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:17PM Cadence Design beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY11 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (CDNS) 9.78 +0.38 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.09 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.08; revenues rose 19.9% year/year to $266.1 mln vs the $260 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.09-$0.11 vs. $0.09 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $270-280 mln vs. $260.35 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.36-$0.44 vs. $0.36 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $1.075-1.115 bln vs. $1.06 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:15PM TriQuint Semi reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (TQNT) 13.48 +0.08 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 24.1% year/year to $224.3 mln vs the $220.5 mln consensus. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin for the first quarter was 40.0%, up from 39.0% in the first quarter of 2010 and flat sequentially. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.16-0.18 vs. $0.21 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $230-240 mln vs. $241.28 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:08PM Novellus beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (NVLS) 34.68 -0.17 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.04 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.03; revenues rose 49.6% year/year to $413.2 mln vs the $410.1 mln consensus.

10:06AM GT Solar receives $218.9 million order for advanced sapphire crystallization furnaces from Guizhou Haotian Optoelectronics Technology Co. LTD (SOLR) 10.17 +0.30 :

9:09AM ARM Holdings beat Q1 ests overnight (ARMH) 30.74 : Reports Q1 EPS of GBP 2.73 vs. the GBP 2.58 consensus; rev +26% YoY to GBP 116.2 mln vs., the GBP 111.0 mln consensus. "ARM has made an encouraging start to 2011 with more leading cos choosing to deploy ARM technology in their products. Looking forward, we anticipate normal seasonality for royalty revenues in the second quarter and, notwithstanding the current uncertainty as to the economic impact of the Japanese earthquake on the semiconductor industry supply chain and end-product markets, we expect that group dollar revenues for the full-year 2011 will be at least in line with current market expectations."

Apple (AAPL) announced that iPad 2, the second-generation of its breakthrough post-PC device, will arrive in Japan on Thursday, April 28 and Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and eight additional countries on Friday, April 29. iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores at 9 a.m. local time, select Apple Authorized Resellers, and online through the Apple Store beginning at 1 a.m. Additionally, iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in China beginning Friday, May 6.

8:33AM Apple responds inquiries of location gathering of its devices; co has never tracked location of iPhone, does not plan to (AAPL) 350.42 : Co would like to respond to the questions we have recently received about the gathering and use of location information by its devices. 1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone?Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.... 3. Why is my iPhone logging my location?The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it's maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone, to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested. Calculating a phone's location using just GPS satellite data can take up to several minutes. iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data to quickly find GPS satellites, and even triangulate its location using just Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available (such as indoors or in basements).

8:31AM Apple announced that white iPhone 4 will be available tomorrow (AAPL) 350.42 : Co announced that the white iPhone 4 will be available beginning tomorrow. White iPhone 4 models will be available from Apple's online store (www.apple.com), at Apple's retail stores, AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

8:04AM Silicon Labs beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 revs in-line (SLAB) 43.81 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.35; revenues fell 5.6% year/year to $119.6 mln vs the $118.9 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $124-130 mln vs. $128.58 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

7:14AM Corning beats by $0.03, beats on revs; sees equity earnings +10% QoQ (GLW) 20.60 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.47 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 9.0% year/year to $1.92 bln vs the $1.83 bln consensus. Display Technologies wholly owned business glass volume increased by upper-single digits sequentially, while volume at Samsung Corning Precision Materials, improved slightly. The co's total glass volume, which includes its wholly owned business and SCP, increased 5% sequentially. Telecommunications sales increased 7% sequentially and 30% year over year. Specialty Materials sales jumped 29% sequentially and 165% YoY, driven primarily by Corning Gorilla Glass. Environmental Technologies sales improved 12% sequentially and 35% YoY. Outlook: In the display segment, Corning expects combined glass volume in the second quarter to be consistent with the first quarter. Glass volume for the company's wholly owned business is anticipated to decline in the low- to mid-teen range sequentially, primarily the result of lower utilization rates at several customers. At Samsung Corning Precision, volume is expected to increase in the low- to mid-teen range for the quarter. Glass price declines are expected to continue to moderate. "We have reviewed the display component supply chain in Japan. It is our opinion that a potential component shortage that could cause a significant disruption is unlikely. With regard to Sharp's decision to reduce production, we see this as a temporary situation that will not last beyond the second quarter." As a result, the co expects a significant increase in LCD glass demand in the third quarter with Sharp resuming production and the global supply chain preparing for the seasonally strong fourth quarter. Telecommunications segment second-quarter sales are expected to increase around 20% sequentially and be up nearly 30% YoY. Environmental Technologies segment second-quarter sales are expected to decline slightly sequentially compared to a record first quarter. Year-over-year quarterly sales increases should be about 35%. Specialty Materials sequential sales in the second quarter are expected to grow about 20%, the result of continued strong Gorilla Glass performance. Corning anticipates that equity earnings will be up about 10% sequentially [10% QoQ growth on earnings of $748 mln or $0.47 for Q1 equates to $823 mln or ~$0.52, may not compare to $756 mln consensus, $0.47].

AMD (AMD) announced a new collaboration with MulticoreWare to deliver an advanced set of tools for OpenCL optimization.

Trina Solar (TSL) announced through its subsidiary, Changzhou Trina Solar Energy, the extension of its national distribution agreement with Australia's leading renewable energy distributor, RF Industries.

5:18AM United Micro reports EPS in-line, misses on revs (UMC) 2.77 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 13.6% year/year to $956.1 mln vs the $1014.8 mln consensus. For Q2, co sees wafer shipments and ASP flat; capacity utilization in mid 80% range; Gross margins in Low to mid 20% range. Additionally, co sees Consumer and computer segments will outpace the communication sector.

4:39AM Nokia plans to transfer Symbian software activities to Accenture (ACN); ACN to provide future smartphone ecosystem services to co; (NOK) 8.86 : Co and Accenture (ACN) announce plans for a strategic collaboration in which NOK would outsource its Symbian software activities and transition about 3,000 employees to ACN. At the same time, ACN would provide mobility software services to NOK for future smartphones. This collaboration also includes plans for Accenture to provide mobility software, business and operational services around the Windows Phone platform to NOK and other ecosystem participants. ACN would become a preferred partner for NOK's smartphone development activities, as well as a preferred provider of services. Additionally, co announced plans to align its global workforce and consolidate site operations. These measures are part of NOK"s target to reduce its Devices & Services non-IFRS operating expenses by EUR1 bln for the full year 2013 in comparison to the full year 2010.