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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : The stock market scored its third gain of at least 1% in four sessions and settled above its 50-day moving average for the first time in more than a month as market participants pushed the major averages higher ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated FOMC policy statement and press conference with Fed Chairman Bernanke.

Amid persistent macro headwinds that have made for sluggish economic growth and precarious conditions across the eurozone there has been growing anticipation for some sort of additional stimulus measure to be unveiled by the FOMC tomorrow. Such a notion dropped the dollar by about 0.7% against a basket of major foreign currencies, although most of that came as the euro traded higher following a modest reduction in Spain's debt yields.

Defensive-oriented stocks were lackluster throughout the session. Most favor was given to Financials, which collectively climbed 1.7%. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 35.38, +0.76) CEO Jamie Dimon was back on Capital Hill to give a testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, but nothing was stated that deviated from comments made to the Senate Banking Committee last week.

There was only a dearth of other corporate announcements today. FedEx (FDX 91.01, +2.50) shares fell at the open of trade, but were quick to rally out of the red. The company posted an upside earnings surprise, but issued downside guidance. Oracle (ORCL 27.96, +0.84) had an in-line outlook on better-than-expected earnings.

Advancing Sectors: Materials +2.0%, Financials +1.7%, Energy +1.4%, Industrials +1.2%, Tech +1.0%, Health Care +1.0%, Consumer Discretionary +0.9%
Declining Sectors: Consumer Staples -0.1%, Utilities -0.2%, Telecom -0.2%DJ30 +95.51 NASDAQ +34.43 NQ100 +1.1% R2K +1.8% SP400 +1.1% SP500 +13.20 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1903/1.82 bln/601 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2565/771 mln/488

3:30 pm : Crude oil traded in positive territory for all of pit trade. It touched a session high of $84.73 per barrel and a session low of $83.86 per barrel by the afternoon. However, the energy component regained upward momentum to settle at $84.33 per barrel for a 0.9% gain. Meanwhile, natural gas struggled in negative territory for its entire pit session, plunging to a session low of $2.51 per MMBtu. A rally into the close pushed natural gas up to $2.55 per MMBtu, but that still made for a 3.0% loss.

After a positive open precious metals extended yesterday's losses, despite weakness in the dollar. Gold set a session high of $1631.90 per ounce as floor trade opened, but fell to a session low of $1618.10 per ounce in afternoon action. Its efforts to erase the loss proved unsuccessful, leaving gold to settle for a 0.2% loss at $1623.30 per ounce. Silver touched a session high of $28.79 per ounce, but found itself in the red by late morning action. It dipped to a session low of $28.27 per ounce before settling with a 1.0% loss at $28.37 per ounce.DJ30 +109.06 NASDAQ +35.40 SP500 +13.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1910/1.46 bln/585 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2575/495 mln/465

4:11PM Adobe Systems beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs below consensus; guides FY12 in-line (ADBE) 32.89 +0.26 : Reports Q2 (May) earnings of $0.60 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.59; revenues rose 9.9% year/year to $1.12 bln vs the $1.11 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.56-0.61, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.61 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $1.075-1.125 bln vs. $1.13 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues in-line guidance for FY12, sees EPS of $2.40-2.46, excluding non-recurring items, from its prior targeted range of $2.38 to $2.48, vs. $2.44 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. For fiscal year 2012, the company narrowed its annual revenue growth target to a range of six to seven percent, versus its prior target range of six to eight percent, and inline with consensus of +6.7%.

4:10PM FSI Intl beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 revs below consensus (FSII) 4.44 +0.25 : Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.21; revenues rose 98.3% year/year to $50.76 mln vs the $50.4 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $40-45 mln vs. $48.07 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "The company anticipates that fourth quarter orders will decline from the $41.8 million third quarter level. Despite the growing demand for 32/28nm devices, we believe that global economic uncertainty is causing customers to reassess their near-term capital spending. In addition, the scheduling of several facility construction and conversion plans is impacting the timing of capital equipment orders. Based upon the anticipated gross profit margin and the operating expense run rate, the company expects net income of $4.0 to $5.0 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. The company expects to generate cash from operating activities in the fourth quarter, as we continue to manage inventory and accounts receivable levels."

4:08PM Applied Materials names Gary Dickerson as President (AMAT) 11.17 +0.17 : Co announced the appointment of Gary Dickerson as president of the company, effective June 19, 2012. Mr. Dickerson brings more than 30 years of semiconductor industry experience, including recently as the chief executive officer of Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, which Applied Materials acquired in 2011.

4:06PM Jabil Circuit reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS, revs below consensus (JBL) 19.42 +0.41 : Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $0.64 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.64; revenues rose 0.5% year/year to $4.25 bln vs the $4.29 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.54-0.66, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.67 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $4.1-4.35 bln vs. $4.39 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "We are delighted with the outstanding performance of our Diversified Manufacturing Services sector overall and we are actively expanding our capacity in order to meet the growing demands of numerous customers and products. The ramp-up of new products, combined with specific customer challenges and muted end-markets give us plenty to focus on in the fourth fiscal quarter. We believe success in the fourth quarter will set the stage for a brisk fiscal 2013 and a continuation of record setting years."

4:02PM Integrated Device announces extension of exchange offer expiration date in PLX Technology (PLXT) transaction (IDTI) 5.41 -0.04 : Co announced that it is extending the expiration date of its exchange offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of PLX Technology (PLXT). The exchange offer was previously scheduled to expire at the end of the day on June 20, 2012, at 12:00 midnight, New York City time. The exchange offer is being extended as the applicable waiting period pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 has not yet expired or been terminated, and the exchange offer is now set to expire at the end of the day on July 12, 2012, at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, unless further extended. Approximately 5.8 million shares, or approximately 13.0% of PLX's outstanding common stock, had been tendered as of 12:00 midnight at the end of the day on June 18, 2012.

11:30AM Dell awarded 10 year National Institutes of Health CIO-SP3 contract vehicle with $20 bln ceiling (DELL) 12.32 -0.10 : Co announced it was chosen as one of the prime recipients by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) for their Chief Information Officer - Solution and Partners 3 (CIO-SP3) contract. CIO-SP3 is a multiple award Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) with a ceiling value of $20 billion. The 10-year indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract offers IT support for Federal Enterprise Architecture, the Federal Health Architecture and the Department of Defense Department Enterprise Architecture. Under this contract, Dell has the opportunity to deliver a wide range of services, including software development, enterprise management systems, digital government, critical infrastructure protection and information assurance, integration services, IT operations and maintenance, outsourcing, imaging, CIO support, and IT services for biomedical research, health sciences, health care and general IT.

SanDisk (SNDK) announced a mobile memory card for smartphones and tablets with up to 95MB/sec read and up to 90MB/sec write speeds.

NVIDIA (NVDA) announced that the SAGA system, India's most powerful supercomputer and the holder of the 85 position on the Top500 list released yesterday, is leveraging NVIDIA GPUs to dramatically improve the design and analysis of the delivery vehicles critical to the nation's space program.

12:33AM Microsoft unveils Window based tablets 'Surface' (MSFT) 29.84 : Co introduces 2 models of Surface will be available: one running an ARM (ARMH) processor featuring Windows RT, and one with a third-generation Intel (INTC) Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. Co states Surface will be a premium way to experience all that Windows has to offer. Surface for Windows RT will release with the general availability of Windows 8, and the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. Both will be sold in the Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and available through select online Microsoft Stores. Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT.

09:42 am Oracle shares rise 5% following surprise early earnings release; company beat by 4 cents
Oracle (ORCL $28.59 +1.46) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.82 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.78, while revenues rose 1% year/year to $11.0 billion versus the $10.88 bln consensus. "Our record-breaking fourth quarter featured several all-time highs for Oracle: new software license sales of $4 billion, total software revenue of $8 billion, total revenue of $11 bln, and EPS of 82 cents." The company also announced that its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $10.0 bln of common stock under its existing share repurchase program in future quarters.

09:40 am Microsoft shares rise by 2% following introduction of Surface tablet

Microsoft (MSFT $30.46 +0.62) introduced 2 models of Surface will be available: one running an ARM (ARMH) processor featuring Windows RT, and one with a third-generation Intel (INTC) Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro.

The company states Surface will be a premium way to experience all that Windows has to offer. Surface for Windows RT will release with the general availability of Windows 8, and the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. Both will be sold in the Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and available through select online Microsoft Stores. Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Oracle (ORCL $28.65 +1.54) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.82 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.78, while revenues rose 1% year/year to $11.0 billion versus the $10.88 bln consensus. "Our record-breaking fourth quarter featured several all-time highs for Oracle: new software license sales of $4 billion, total software revenue of $8 billion, total revenue of $11 bln, and EPS of 82 cents." The company also announced that its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $10.0 bln of common stock under its existing share repurchase program in future quarters.

Autodesk (ADSK $34.43 +0.79) reaffirmed guidance for the second quarter with EPS of $0.46-0.51 versus the $0.49 Capital IQ Consensus and revenues of $580-600 million versus the $593.84 million consensus. The company reaffirmed guidance for fiscal year 2013 with revenues of up at least 10% to $2.438 billion versus the $2.43 billion consensus. The company also anticipates fiscal 2013 GAAP operating margin to increase by approximately 120 basis points and non-GAAP operating margin to increase by approximately 200 basis points compared to fiscal 2012. The company announced that its Board of Directors has approved the repurchase of up to 30 mln shares of the co's common stock, in addition to the approximately 12 mln shares that remained at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2013 under previously authorized share repurchase programs. The repurchase plan provides Autodesk with the authorization to cover dilution and reduce shares outstanding over time.

Microsoft (MSFT $30.53 +0.69) introduced 2 models of Surface will be available: one running an ARM (ARMH) processor featuring Windows RT, and one with a third-generation Intel (INTC) Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. Co states Surface will be a premium way to experience all that Windows has to offer. Surface for Windows RT will release with the general availability of Windows 8, and the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. Both will be sold in the Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and available through select online Microsoft Stores. Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT.

ISI notes the Microsoft (MSFT $30.53 +0.69) new tablet, named Surface, will come in two models (e.g., Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro) and Microsoft's suggested pricing would be competitive with comparable tablets. From a hardware perspective, ISI believes key differentiators for both tablets will be their VaporMg cover/keyboard (adds ~3.5mm thickness) which also serves as a full multi-touch keyboard and connectivity options (e.g., USB port, microSD, etc.) While ISI believes Surface will appeal to users looking for a Windows tablet capable of running Windows-based productivity software (e.g., Office, Photoshop, etc.), firm does not see it altering competitive dynamics in the tablet market. In ISI's view, AAPL's unparalleled ecosystem (e.g., 225k+ iPad apps, iCloud, iTunes, etc.) provide a sustainable advantage and remain comfortable with its CY12 and CY13 iPad estimates of 64.3mil and 80.0mil units.

09:10 am Celestica downgraded to Hold at Argus: . Argus downgrades CLS to Hold from Buy noting the co will wind down its manufacturing relationship with Research in Motion, which accounted for 19% of 1Q12 revenue, by the end of 2012. Firm says the loss of this business will deny Celestica a big seasonally inflected finish to 2012 and result in negative revenue comparisons through at least 2Q13. With the loss of RIM, Celestica will also return to a disproportionate reliance on legacy EMS services, where margins are thin and in some cases declining.