Sector Investing

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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : Early trade was lackluster as market participants appeared reluctant to either bet on or against a stock market that has consistently shrugged off precarious conditions in Europe, ongoing concerns about prospects for global growth, and debate over the necessity of monetary stimulus. The ascent has the S&P 500 on pace for its fifth straight weekly advance and its tenth in 11 tries. The hot streak has the broad market measure above 1400 for the first time since mid-2008.

Financials have fueled the latest leg of gains. The sector had a quiet follow-up to the near 4% surge that it scored two days ago, but this session it added almost 2% more. Financials are now up more than 20% year to date. That makes them the best performing sector of 2012.

Among financial issues, banks were especially strong as buyers continued to flock to the space following the recent release of stress test results -- the KBW Bank Index bounded to a 2.7% gain.

Tech stocks aren't far behind Financials in terms of their year-to-date performance, but the sector, which mustered a 0.3% gain today, was hampered by weakness in Apple (AAPL 585.56, -4.02). The biggest stock by market weight opened the day at a record high of roughly $600 per share, but it gradually descended into negative territory. Still, the stock is up more than 40% year to date, leaving some to question just how long the stock can continue its climb.

Data released this morning had little influence over trade. Initial jobless claims for the week ended March 10 totaled 351,000, which is down 14,000 week over week, but not too different than the 355,000 initial claims that had been broadly expected.

Producer prices for February increased by 0.4% month over month, but a 0.5% increase had been broadly anticipated. Core producer prices increased by a more moderate 0.2% month over month, as had been generally expected.

The Empire Manufacturing Survey improved to 20.2 in March from 19.5 in February, contrasting with the consensus call for a reading of 15.0. The Philadelphia Fed Survey improved to 12.5 in March from 10.2 in February, but that matched what had been broadly forecasted.

There aren't any earnings reports of consequence scheduled for this evening or tomorrow morning, but Friday does bring monthly consumer price data at 8:30 AM ET, monthly industrial production numbers at 9:15 AM ET, and the preliminary reading on consumer sentiment for March from the University of Michigan at 9:55 AM ET. Worth noting, too, is that tomorrow is a quadruple witching options expiration day, which could add to volume and volatility.

Advancing Sectors: Financials +1.9%, Industrials +1.2%, Materials +0.8%, Consumer Discretionary +0.4%, Telecom +0.4%, Tech +0.3%, Consumer Staples +0.2%, Health Care +0.2%, Energy +0.1%
Declining Sectors: Utilities -0.1%DJ30 +58.66 NASDAQ +15.64 NQ100 +0.2% R2K +1.0% SP400 +0.9% SP500 +8.32 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1672/1.67 bln/833 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1811/844 mln/1208

4:05PM Micrel announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in PhaseLink Company; acquisition to be dilutive to earnings per share by ~ $0.02 per share on a non-GAAP basis in 2012 and accretive within 18 months of closing (MCRL) 10.50 +0.17 : Co announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in PhaseLink Company, a private company based in Taiwan and Silicon Valley. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. Micrel currently expects the acquisition to be dilutive to earnings per share by ~ $0.02 per share on a non-GAAP basis in 2012 and accretive within 18 months of closing. Micrel expects to operate PhaseLink as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Synopsys (SNPS) and Applied Materials (AMAT) announced a collaboration to develop technology computer-aided design models for semiconductor devices.

8:03AM Cisco Systems confirms intent to acquire NDS; expected to be accretive to EPS in the first full year on a non-GAAP basis (CSCO) 20.19 : CSCO announced its intent to acquire NDS Group Ltd., a provider of video software and content security solutions that enable service providers and media companies to securely deliver and monetize new video entertainment experiences. "The acquisition of NDS will complement and accelerate the delivery of Videoscape, Cisco's comprehensive platform that enables service providers and media companies to deliver next-generation entertainment experiences. Acquiring NDS will broaden Cisco's opportunities in the service provider market, expanding its reach into emerging markets, such as China and India, where NDS has an established customer footprint. Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $5 billion, including the assumption of debt and retention-based incentives, to acquire all of the business and operations of NDS. The acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies." The net impact to Cisco is expected to be accretive to EPS in the first full year on a non-GAAP basis. This was reported earlier - see 5:56 comment.

Presto Engineering and LTX-Credence (LTXC) announced the selection of the LTX-Credence X-Series tester platform for use on customer engagements targeting the wireless communications, automotive and industrial markets.