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From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : Markets closed lower for a third consecutive session after disappointing data out of China and Japan along with a rise of Spanish yields weighed. A tamer than expected 2.2% YoY Chinese CPI reading and a 14.8% MoM plunge in Japan’s core machinery orders pushed Asian markets lower, and that weakness spread into Europe as Spain’s 10-yr climbed back above 7.00%. All three of the major averages finished in the red with as the Dow paced the decline with a loss of 0.3%.

Shares of Alcoa (AA 8.76, +0.03) were in focus today with the company set to kick off the second quarter earnings season after today’s closing bell. The Capital IQ Consensus Estimate is calling for earnings per share of $0.06 on revenues of $5.82 billion. The key earnings release this week will be Friday’s J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM 33.96, +0.06) results which will show investors just how big of an impact the ‘London Whale’ trade had on the quarter.

Barclays (BCS 10.23, -0.04) fell 0.4% and closed lower for the sixth time in seven sessions as the fallout from the recent allegations the company attempted to manipulate the British Bankers’ Association’s LIBOR rate continued. The stock is now down close to 17% since the news broke following its June 27 close.

Amerigroup (AGP 88.79, +24.45) surged 38% following word that Wellpoint (WLP 61.95, +2.04) was acquiring the company for $92.00 per share in cash, or $4.9 billion. Upon completion of the deal, Wellpoint will serve more than four-and-a-half million beneficiaries of state sponsored health care programs. Another acquisition saw Campbell Soup (CPB 32.72, -0.27) purchase Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 billion in cash.

Payment processors Visa (V 123.65, -1.63) and MasterCard (MA 431.27, -10.36) lost 1.3% and 2.4% respectively after UBS downgrade the stocks to sell, noting shares were near all-time highs despite exposure to a weakening consumer backdrop.

A solid bid in Treasuries dropped the 10-yr yield more than three basis points to 1.513%. Today’s buying flattened the yield curve as the 2-10-yr spread narrowed to 125 basis points. Meanwhile, light selling dropped the Dollar Index to the 83.15 level. Both the euro and the pound saw small gains ending the day near 1.2315 and 1.5530 respectively.

There is no data tomorrow. Treasury will auction $32 billion 3-yr notes.DJ30 -36.18 NASDAQ -5.56 SP500 -2.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1049/1.39 bln/1699 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1344/649.7 mln/1699

4:21PM Advanced Micro lowers Q2 rev guidance below consensus; reaffirms gross margin guidance (AMD) 5.62 -0.13 : Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Jun), lowers Q2 (Jun) rev to -11% QoQ (from flat to +6% QoQ) to ~$1.41 bln vs. $1.63 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. The lower preliminary rev results are primarily due to business conditions that materialized late in Q2, specifically softer-than-expected channel sales in China and Europe as well as a weaker consumer buying environment impacting the co's Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) business. The co expects second quarter gross margin to be ~in line with prior guidance. Operating expenses for the second quarter are expected to improve and to be ~8 percent less than prior guidance of ~$605 million, a result of tightly controlled expenses in the quarter. Co will report in July 19.

4:11PM ASML and Intel (INTC) reach agreements to accelerate key next-generation semiconductor manufacturing technologies; Intel commits ~$1 bln to ASML's research and development programs (ASML) 26.17 +0.02 : INTC announced it has entered into a series of agreements with ASML intended to accelerate the development of 450-millimeter wafer technology and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography totaling EUR 3.3 bln (~$4.1 bln). The objective is to shorten the schedule for deploying the lithography equipment supporting these technologies by as much as two years, resulting in significant cost savings and other productivity improvements for semiconductor manufacturers. INTC to also initially purchase 10% of pre-transaction issued shares of ASML for EUR 1.7 bln (~$2.1 bln ) and commit to purchase an additional 5% of post-transaction issued shares as part of ASML's program to enable minority investments of up to a 25% equity stake to its largest customers INTC will then hold a total of 15% of ASML's issued shares. The total equity investment will be EUR 2.5 bln (~$3.1 bln). As part of these agreements, Intel is also committing to advanced purchase orders for 450-mm and EUV development and production tools from ASML. ASML has stated its intention to sell up to a 25% aggregate stake in the company to Intel and other semiconductor manufacturers in this program. ASML is currently in discussions with other customers and has publicly indicated it expects others in the industry to participate in the R&D and equity program. Regardless of the outcome of ASML's discussions with other customers and upon completion of this two-phase program, Intel's ownership stake in ASML will not exceed 15 % of ASML's post-transaction issued shares and will be subject to lock-up and voting restrictions. ASML has stated its intention to sell up to a 25 % aggregate stake in the company (on a post-transaction basis) to Intel and other semiconductor manufacturers in this program. ASML is currently in discussions with other customers and has publicly indicated it expects others in the industry to participate in the R&D and equity program.

4:08PM Alcoa reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (AA) 8.76 +0.04 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.06; revenues fell 9.4% year/year to $5.96 bln vs the $5.82 bln consensus, primarily due to an 18 and 17% year-on-year decline in the realized metal price and realized alumina price, respectively. Alcoa recorded revenue growth in the second quarter across global end markets, including packaging (5%), aerospace (4%), and commercial transportation (3%), compared to 1Q12. Alcoa continues to project a global aluminum supply deficit in 2012 and reaffirmed its forecast that global aluminum demand would grow 7% in 2012, on top of the 10% growth seen in 2011. Strength in the midstream and downstream businesses continued to mitigate volatility in the upstream businesses. Engineered Products and Solutions once again turned in record results, with second quarter adjusted EBITDA margin at 19.4%, the highest to date. Despite continued European weakness, Global Rolled Products achieved record first half adjusted EBITDA per metric ton of $409, 74% higher than the 10-year average, and record first half ATOI of $191 million... Alcoa proposed to settle the Alba civil suit by offering Alba a cash payment of $45 million. Alcoa has also offered Alba a long-term alumina supply contract. Based on the cash offer, Alcoa recorded a $45 million charge. Alcoa currently estimates an additional possible charge of up to $75 million to settle the suit. In addition, Alcoa has been in dialogue with the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding their investigations. If a settlement of the government's investigations can be reached, it is probable that the amount would be material in a particular period to Alcoa's results of operations.

MIPS Technologies (MIPS) and Vango Technologies announced they are working together to provide solutions for the China smart grid market. Vango will leverage MIPS Technologies' MIPS32 M14K processor cores to provide 32-bit microcontroller functionality in smart meter and smart grid SoCs.

8:02AM Lattice announces strategic partnership with UMC (UMC) (LSCC) 3.81 : Co announced a long term technology partnership with United Microelectronics (UMC), a global semiconductor foundry. As part of this partnership, Lattice and UMC will continue work, already underway, on non-volatile products based on advanced technology nodes and then quickly expand their efforts to include other Lattice product lines.

Novatel Wireless (NVTL) has been granted U.S. Patent entitled "Systems and methods for multi-mode wireless modem," a core invention covering Intelligent Mobile Hotspot products, home automation gateway devices, fixed mobile convergence routers and general machine-to-machine solutions involving wireless gateway implementation.

Nova Measuring Instruments (NVMI) announced that a memory manufacturer in Asia selected Nova's Nova i500 integrated metrology tool as Production Tool of Record for its technology nodes.

7:08AM Tessera Tech wins key ruling in arbitration versus Amkor (AMKR) (TSRA) 15.00 : Co announced that the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) issued an interim award in favor of Tessera in its dispute with Amkor Technology. The ICC tribunal confirmed that the Amkor license agreement had been properly terminated by Tessera in Feb 2011. Based on a preliminary review of the interim award, Tessera intends to seek an amount in excess of $125 mln from Amkor.

12:05 pm S&P Information Technology Index trading lower along with broader market

The tech sector is trading lower today, just trailing the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative weakness with the Philly Semi Index trading 1.4% lower. MKSI (-3.0%) is a notable laggard in that chip index. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.3% lower today, as are both the QQQ and the NASDAQ on the session. Among tech bellwethers, FB (+3.4%) is showing notable strength, while TXN (-1.2%) and IBM (-1.2%) are under pressure.

In earnings this morning, QLIK (+1.8%) issued Q2 revenue guidance that fell below consensus, while CKSW (-8.6%) guided Q2 revs and EPS below consensus. In news, Friday after the close, YHOO (0.0%) and FB (+3.4%) announced that they have entered into definitive agreements that launch a new advertising partnership, extend and expand distribution arrangements, and settle all pending patent claims between the companies. Elsewhere, YOKU (+0.3%) entered into licensing agreement with NBCUniversal International Television Distribution in China.

There were no notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space. In downgrades, however, SWI (-7.7%) was downgraded to Mkt Perform at FBR Capital and LRCX (-0.6%) was downgraded to Outperform Credit Agricole. Also, LNKD (-4.7%) is under pressure today following analyst comments regarding a new job board on FB (+3.4%). There are no notable names in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close.