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From Briefing.com: 4:20 pm : Equities got off to a strong start today but could not hold their gains into the afternoon. The S&P 500 briefly touched a 4-year high before retreating to session lows. Total volume was better than what has been seen in recent days, but remained well below average. The Dow underperformed and finished lower by 0.5% while the S&P 500 shed 0.4%.

Financial stocks outperformed the broader market as the components appeared to be benefit from the rotation out of traditionally safer stocks found in the utility and telecom sectors. Major names showed considerable intraday strength, but final gains were a bit slimmer due to the afternoon sell-off. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 38.04, +0.67) and Citigroup (C 30.73, +0.75) added 1.8% and 2.5%, respectively. Today's strength has Citigroup up nearly 16.0% since its earnings report in mid-July. European financials were even more exuberant as Deutsche Bank (DB 34.07, +1.38) and Credit Suisse (CS 18.68, +0.59) gained 4.2% and 3.3%, respectively.

The materials sector also showed strength. Within the group, A.M. Castle & Co (CAS 11.69, +2.47) surged 26.8% after Platinum Equity bought a 6.0% stake through metal processor Ryerson. The private equity firm also said it might try to buy the rest of the company. Meanwhile, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX 36.49, +1.13) advanced 3.2%.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average outperformed the market. After yesterday's rally in airline stocks was brought on by a fare hike, Delta Airlines (DAL 9.71, +0.25) enjoyed its second day of gains. Shares of the carrier ended higher by 2.6%. Trucking stocks were also stronger with Con-Way (CNW 31.24, +0.46) up 1.5%.

Coal stocks rallied after the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington threw out an Environmental Protection Agency rule over limits on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. Alpha Natural Resources (ANR 6.90, +0.40) jumped 6.2% on the news. Other coal names have faded some of the post-ruling gains, but they remained bid. Westmoreland Coal (WLB 7.94, +0.45) and Peabody Energy (BTU 23.79, +0.85) advanced by 6.0% and 3.7%, respectively.

Earlier today, tech giant Apple (AAPL 656.06, -9.08) marked an all-time high at $674.88, but some late morning selling dropped it into negative territory. The stock remained there for the remainder of the session and finished with a loss of 1.4%. Elsewhere, Daktronics (DAKT 9.43, +1.37) soared 17.0% after beating on earnings and revenues.

Shares within the telecommunications space weighed on the major averages. Neutral Tandem (IQNT 10.99, -0.56) slid 4.9% as selling pressure pushed the stock down to levels last seen in mid-March. Meanwhile, Verizon (VZ 42.89, -0.81) and AT&T (T 36.59, -0.30) ended lower by 1.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

There are a few names of interest remaining on the tail end of the earnings calendar. Dell (DELL 12.34, -0.22) will report earnings after today's close. The personal computer retailer is expected to earn $0.45 on $14.66 billion revenues. Meanwhile, Williams-Sonoma (WSM 38.23, +0.90) will also report after the bell. The culinary retailer is expected to report earnings of $0.41 on $863.84 million revenues.

Tomorrow morning, two apparel companies will report their quarterly results. Analysts expect American Eagle Outfitters (AEO 20.83, +0.38) to earn $0.21 on revenues of $738.72 million. Elsewhere, expectations call for Express (EXPR 16.90, -0.03) to earn $0.17 on $467.42 million revenues.

Tomorrow's economic calendar includes three releases. The MBA Mortgage Index will be announced at 7 AM ET, and existing home sales will be reported at 10 AM ET. Finally, the FOMC minutes will be released at 2 PM ET.DJ30 -68.06 NASDAQ -8.95 SP500 -4.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1065/1.53 bln/1385 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1309/640.9 mln/1648

3:30 pm : Crude oil traded higher in today's floor trade on a decline in the dollar and further tensions in the Middle East. Earlier today, reports suggested that President Obama has warned about military action against Syria if the country deploys chemical or biological weapons. The energy component climbed to a session high of $97.85 per barrel but lost steam in afternoon action. Despite the pull-back, crude still managed to book a gain of 0.6% as it settled at $96.89 per barrel.

Natural gas fell 11 cents, or 4%, to a floor session low of $2.70 per MMBtu following reports that a U.S. Court put on hold an EPA rule over limits on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. However, concerns over weather-related disruption of production in the Gulf had buyers step in and quickly correct the move. It then popped to a session high of $2.84 per MMBtu, but a sell-off heading into the close left natural gas to settle unchanged at $2.78 per MMBtu.

Precious metals gained steam as the dollar fell in response to reports of further evidence that the ECB may be moving toward capping yields on Italy and Spain. In addition, Spain held a successful auction which has helped sentiment.

Gold traded higher for a fifth consecutive pit session and touched a new three-and-a-half month high of $1643.60 per ounce. The yellow metal then traded in a consolidative pattern and settled with a 1.2% gain at $1642.90 per ounce.

Silver also climbed higher in today's floor trade. It came off its session low of $28.92 per ounce and settled with a solid 2.9% gain at $29.42 per ounce, or just below its session high of $29.44 per ounce.DJ30 -77.13 NASDAQ -13.49 SP500 -6.32 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1026/1301.8 mln/1417 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1215/430 mln/1745

4:10PM Dell beats by $0.05, misses on revs; guides Q3 revs and FY13 EPS below consensus (DELL) 12.34 -0.22 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.50 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.45; revenues fell 7.5% year/year to $14.48 bln vs the $14.66 bln consensus; desktop and mobility revenue contracted. Large Enterprise revenue was $4.5 billion in the quarter, a 3% decline. Operating income was $433 million, or 9.5% of revenue. Enterprise Solutions and Services revenue increased 9% on 17% growth in server and networking revenue and 5% increase in services. Public revenue was $4.1 billion, a 6% decrease. Operating income for the quarter was $379 million, or 9.3% of revenue. Server and networking revenue increased 4%. Small and Medium Business revenue was $3.3 billion, a 1% decline. Operating income was $382 million, or 11.7% of revenue. Enterprise solutions and services grew 15% led by an increase of 27% in services revenue and 16% in servers and networking. Consumer revenue was $2.6 billion, a 22% decline. Operating income was $14 million or 0.5% of revenue. Revenue in Americas was down 6%; EMEA was down 7%, and Asia-Pacific and Japan revenue was down 12%. Revenue in BRIC countries was down 15%.

Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs -2 to -5% QoQ to ~$13.76-14.19 bln vs. $14.87 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues downside guidance for FY13, sees EPS of at least $1.70, excluding non-recurring items, but including $0.02-0.03 dilution from Quest acquisition, vs. $1.91 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; guidance from February was for over $2.13.

4:07PM Ultra Clean Holdings lowers Q3 rev guidance to $96-101 mln vs $109.93 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; says one larger customer has decided to insource a portion of their business (UCTT) 6.70 : While the company is not providing new earnings per share guidance it is reconfirming the forecasted tax rate for the quarter. During the company's second quarter earnings conference call on July 23, 2012 the company stated that it expected revenue for the third quarter of 2012 to range between $107 million to $112 million, with earnings per share in the range of $0.10 to $0.14. In addition, the company forecasted a tax rate of 32% for the third quarter and a tax rate of 28% for the year. "As discussed during our second quarter conference call, we continue to see a decline in demand within the semiconductor capital equipment industry in the second half of 2012. This decline has been greater than previously expected but we project it to flatten out during the fourth quarter of 2012."

"Additionally, one of our larger semiconductor equipment customers has decided to insource a portion of their gas panel business in the future. While this decision will not have a material impact on our revenue in the second half of 2012, it could have a negative quarterly impact of 7% to 9% on total revenue by the end of 2013."

4:04PM Analog Devices reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (ADI) 40.34 -0.20 : Reports Q3 (Jul) earnings of $0.56 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.56; revenues fell 9.9% year/year to $683 mln vs the $692.53 mln consensus. Gross margin was 65.6% and Op Margin 32%, ex restructuring charges. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.54-0.60 vs. $0.61 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $685-715 mln vs. $716.56 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees gross margins of approx 65%. Op expense expected to be approx $231 mln.

Marvell (MRVL) and SanDisk (SNDK) announced their collaboration on a new generation of microservers for enterprise cloud storage that combines Marvell's ARM reference design with SanDisk's SATA SSD modules

8:07AM Best Buy misses by $0.11, reports revs in-line; reduces/suspends earnings outlook; suspends share repurchases after buying back 6.3 mln shares in Q2 (BBY) 18.16 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.20 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.31; revenues fell 2.8% year/year to $10.55 bln vs the $10.62 bln consensus. Domestic comp store sales decline of 1.6% improved compared to fiscal first quarter decline of 3.7%. Domestic estimated market share maintained year-over-year. U.S. big box square footage reduced by 4% year-over-year; Domestic revenue per square foot up 1% year-over-year. Similar to the first quarter of fiscal 2013, International segment year- over-year operating income decline driven primarily by lower revenue in China, Canada and increased competitive conditions in Europe. Domestic segment total Services category revenue increased ~6%. The co repurchased $122 million, or 6.3 million shares, of its common stock at an average price of $19.28 per share during the fiscal second quarter. The co has suspended its share repurchases for fiscal 2013 as it goes through the transition to a new CEO.

Due to lowered expectations for industry wide sales and the uncertainty associated with several key product launches expected in the second half of fiscal 2013, the co has reduced its annual earnings expectations (previously $3.50-3.80, consensus: $3.61). In addition, the co has just announced a new CEO who will start in early September. Given these factors, the co does not intend to further provide or update earnings guidance for fiscal 2013. The co will continue to provide forward looking commentary on business trends. The co continues to expect to achieve its domestic market share goals for the fiscal year and expects to generate free cash flow in the range of $1.25 billion to $1.5 billion for fiscal 2013.

7:03AM Trina Solar misses by $0.47, misses on revs; sees Q3 shipments higher QoQ; lowers FY12 shipment guidance (TSL) 4.84 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $1.30 per share, $0.47 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.83); revenues fell 40.3% year/year to $346.1 mln vs the $383.91 mln consensus. Solar module shipments were ~419 MW for Q2, following the Company's revised guidance of 390 MW to 420 MW, representing an increase of 10.2% sequentially . Gross margin was 8.4% in Q2, following the co's revised guidance of 7.0% to 9.0%, compared to 5.8% in the first quarter of 2012 and 17.0% in 2Q11.

For Q3, the Company expects to ship between 450 MW to 480 MW of PV modules. The co believes its overall gross margin, taking into account wafer and cell quantities outsourced from third party suppliers to meet demand in excess of its internal capacity and other needs, for the third quarter will be middle-single digits in percentage terms. Such guidance is based on the exchange rate between the Euro and U.S. dollar as of August 21, 2012.

For FY12, the co revises its expectations for total PV module shipments to be between 1.75 GW to 1.80 GW, compared to its previous guidance of 2.0 to 2.1 GW

12:56AM FEI and Hitachi High-Tech settle patent dispute (FEIC) 55.69 : Co announces it has reached a mutually acceptable agreement with Hitachi High-Technologies to settle an ongoing dispute regarding certain HHT patents relating to focused ion beam systems. In exchange for HHT's agreement to dismiss all currently pending claims and to grant future license rights to FEIC for the FIB patents, FEIC will make a one-time payment of $15 mln to HHT. FEIC has previously recorded charges of $5.4 mln related to pending claims pursuant to this patent dispute. The remaining $9.6 mln of the payment announced will be recorded as prepaid royalties and amortized over a period estimated at ~7 years.

09:19 am Corning resumed with a Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; tgt $15: . Stifel Nicolaus resumes coverage of GLW with a Buy and sets target price at $15 saying capacity concerns are overblown while display headwinds are easing. Firm also says margins are poised to expeand.

09:19 am Suntech Power downgraded to Sell at Argus: . Argus downgrades STP to Sell from Hold amid potential affiliate fraud. Firm notes Founder Zhengrong Shi has stepped down as CEO and been replaced by CFO David King. At the end of July, Suntech stated that it may have been the victim of fraud by affiliate Global Solar Fund (GSF). German bonds supposedly serving as collateral on loan guarantees made by Suntech to GSF may be nonexistent. Suntech discovered the problem while exploring the sale of its 80% stake in GSF to help meet a loan obligation coming due in March 2013.