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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : Stocks opened unchanged before falling into the red after today's economic data missed expectations. The August ISM Index was reported at 49.6 versus the 50.0 Briefing.com consensus, while July construction spending fell 0.9% month-over-month, against the expected increase of 0.5%. After reaching session lows 90 minutes after the open, stocks staged a slow climb higher which was punctuated by a broad-based mid-afternoon rally. Stocks rallied back near the flat line where they remained until the end of the day. As a result, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% while Nasdaq gained 0.3%.

The telecom sector outperformed as Cincinnati Bell (CBB 5.06, +0.37) surged 7.9% after Raymond James upgraded the stock from ‘outperform' to ‘strong buy.' Elsewhere in the sector, shares of Verizon (VZ 43.70, +0.76) tacked on 1.8% after the company announced recent activation of its 4G LTE network coverage in Binghamton and Catskill, New York. Other names like CenturyLink (CTL 42.72, +0.46) and Windstream (WIN 9.97, +0.10) were up roughly 1.0% as investors rotated into safer, higher-yielding stocks.

The materials sector was the day's worst performer after the disappointing July construction spending numbers. The group's weakness was most apparent among steel producers as AK Steel (AKS 5.02, -0.20), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 33.68, -2.16), and United States Steel (X 18.78, -0.67) dipped between 3.4% and 6.0%. The negative construction spending data weighed on steelmakers despite two prominent producers reaching labor deals with union workers. United States Steel has reached a tentative agreement with United Steelworkers on a three year contract while Cliffs Natural Resources agreed to a short-term labor contract extension while negotiations continue.

Coal stocks were under heavy pressure after analysts at Dahlman Rose downgraded Peabody Energy (BTU 20.90, -0.73), Alpha Natural Resources (ANR 5.53, -0.41), and Walter Energy (WLT 30.73, -1.97) from ‘buy' to ‘hold.' The three names were down between 3.0% and 7.0% following the downgrades. The weakness spilled over to other coal names such as Arch Coal (ACI 5.79, -0.32), which slumped 5.2%. Elsewhere, CONSOL Energy (CNX 28.83, -1.37) slipped 4.5% as it moved with peers and on the news it will temporarily idle its Buchanan Mine in southwestern Virginia.

Three Nasdaq components were on the move following new analyst comments. Graphic chip producer, NVIDIA (NVDA 13.27, -0.75) slid 5.4% after being downgraded from ‘equal weight' to ‘underweight' by Evercore. In addition, Susquehanna downgraded NVIDIA from ‘positive' to ‘neutral.' Meanwhile, GameStop (GME 20.41, +1.33) ended higher by 7.0% following a Goldman Sachs upgrade from ‘neutral' to ‘buy.' Elsewhere, TiVo (TIVO 9.54, +0.45) advanced 5.0% after JP Morgan upgraded the stock from ‘neutral' to ‘overweight.'

Netflix (NFLX 55.93, -3.79) fell 6.4% after Amazon (AMZN 247.88, -0.39) announced a new Prime instant video agreement with Epix. The agreement is expected to increase competition in online video streaming as it takes aim at the core business of Netflix.

Shares of major financials were mixed as most listings traded in-line with the broader market. However, a handful of names outperformed. Morgan Stanley (MS 15.51, +0.51) gained 3.4% after being upgraded by JP Morgan and Credit Agricole. In addition, Goldman Sachs (GS 106.41, +0.69) tacked on 0.7% despite being downgraded from ‘neutral' to ‘underweight' at JP Morgan.

Tomorrow's economic data includes the MBA Mortgage Index at 7:00 ET and both nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs which will be reported at 8:30 ET.DJ30 -54.90 NASDAQ +8.10 SP500 -1.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1508/1.47 bln/954 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1773/639.2 mln/1229

3:35 pm : Crude oil lost its overnight momentum and fell into negative territory as equity markets opened. The energy component plunged even further on weaker-than-expected manufacturing and construction spending data. It touched a pit session low of $94.97 per barrel and settled for a 1.2% loss at $95.34 per barrel.

Natural gas, on the other hand, came off its session low of $2.79 per MMBtu and climbed into positive territory moments after floor trade opened. It advanced to a session high of $2.89 per MMBtu in early morning action and spent the remainder of the session chopping around just below that level. Natural gas eventually settled 2.1% higher at $2.86 per MMBtu. Precious metals extended last week's gains in today's pit trade.

Gold brushed a session low of $1690.10 per ounce moments after equity markets opened but broke above the $1700.00 per ounce mark following the U.S. economic data mentioned above. The yellow metal peaked at $1701.60 per ounce and then slightly pulled-back. Even with a stronger dollar index, gold booked a 0.5% gain as it closed at $1696.10 per ounce.

Silver spent its morning floor session trading in a rather consolidative pattern and started inching higher in the last hour of floor trade. It finished 3.1% higher at $32.40 per ounce, just below its session high of $32.44 per ounce.DJ30 -23.46 NASDAQ +13.79 SP500 +1.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1535/1223.3 mln/900 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1840/404 mln/1148

4:41PM SemiLEDs announces senior management changes: current President and COO to transition to role of Chief Scientist (LEDS) 1.96 -0.06 : Co announced changes to its senior management team. After serving as President, Chief Operating Officer and director of SemiLEDs, Dr. Anh Chuong Tran has transitioned to the role of Chief Scientist. As the Chief Scientist of SemiLEDs, Dr. Tran will dedicate his time to SemiLEDs' technology and product development efforts. The Board of Directors of SemiLEDs has appointed Mr. Trung T. Doan, currently the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, to the additional role of President.

4:04PM Finisar misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (FNSR) 13.52 -0.22 : Reports Q1 (Jul) earnings of $0.12 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14; revenues fell 3.4% year/year to $220.5 mln vs the $226.42 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.12-0.16, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.19 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $225-240 mln vs. $236.70 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "As expected, our first quarter of fiscal year 2013 was challenging. This was primarily the result of sluggish macroeconomic conditions, especially in Europe, as well as the slowing of economic growth in China. Generally telecom spending throughout the world has been soft. In addition, we had two fewer shipping days in the first quarter than in the previous quarter. However, I am happy to report that we expect revenue growth to resume in the second quarter. In addition, we expect to hold operating expenses relatively flat, excluding the impact of a full quarter of the RED-C acquisition. Thus, we expect operating income will grow in the second quarter."

9:37AM ARM Holdings gaps aggressively lower, hovering between its 200 sma and 50 ema at 26.09 and 25.94 -- session low 25.97 (ARMH) 25.97 -1.27 :

Ciena (CIEN) announced a strategic agreement with the Russian telecoms operator VimpelCom, for the upgrade and expansion of its national optical network.

8:37AM IPG Photonics acquires privately held JPSA Laser expected to be dilutive by $0.01 to $0.02 per share in 2012, accretive in 2013. (IPGP) 61.49 : Co announces the acquisition of privately held New Hampshire-based J.P. Sercel Associates, a global supplier of UV excimer and diode pumped solid state industrial laser micromachining systems for precision processing in high-volume manufacturing. JPSA is anticipated to add ~$4 mln to IPG's revenues for the remainder of 2012. At current revenue levels, the acquisition is expected to be dilutive by $0.01-0.02 per share in 2012, and is expected to be accretive in 2013. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquired business will operate under the name IPG Microsystems LLC.

The University of Manchester and FEI (FEIC) announced the installation of the Titan G2 80-200 scanning transmission electron microscope at the University's School of Materials

Cypress Semiconductor (CY) announced that Lite-On Technology has selected Cypress's 2.4-GHz WirelessUSB-NL radio-on-a-chip for its next-generation wireless keyboard and mouse set.

7:34AM Tower Semicon was chosen by Vishay Intertechnology (VSH) for high volume manufacturing engagement through 2018 (TSEM) 7.90 : Co announced earlier the expansion of its business relationship with Vishay-Siliconix with a five-year agreement under the terms of which TowerJazz will manufacture two Vishay Siliconix product families at TowerJazz's Japanese facility (Fab 4) as well as multiple Vishay Siliconix product families at TowerJazz's Fabs 1 and 2 in Migdal HaEmek, Israel.

Integrated Device Technology (IDTI) has become a member of the Alliance for Wireless Power.

Rudolph Technologies (RTEC) announced that a global industry research center in Asia has purchased Rudolph's MetaPULSE G Metrology System for advanced packaging process development activity.

7:04AM Nokia debuts free music streaming service in the USA (NOK) 2.82 : Co announced the launch of its free music streaming service Nokia Music in the USA. Nokia Music is a free mobile experience exclusive to Nokia Lumia handsets. A separate announcement today will unveil a collaboration between Nokia Music, AT&T (T) and Green Day around the band's new album Uno. The promotion will see Green Day perform an exclusive concert and provide exclusive playlists to Nokia Music for AT&T consumers.

STMicroelectronics (STM) announced that Benedetto Vigna, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group, will deliver a keynote speech at the SEMICON Taiwan 2012 MEMS Forum to address the key factors of ST's leadership and the new trends in MEMS for the smart phone and tablet market.

1:17AM FormFactor to acquire MicroProbe for $100 mln in cash and $16.8 mln in stock; sees accretion in 1Q13 (FORM) 5.09 : Co announces that it has signed a merger agreement with Astria Semiconductor, the parent co of MicroProbe. FROM will acquire MicroProbe for $100 mln in cash and $16.8 million in stock, subject to customary adjustments. The merger is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the first half of FORM's fiscal quarter ending December 29, 2012. MicroProbe generated $87.3 mln in revenue in its fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, growing 46% year-over-year and delivering a non-GAAP EBITDA margin of ~20%. MicroProbe and its affiliated companies have ~360 employees worldwide. After the merger the combined co expects to realize the following significant benefits: (-) FORM will be the industry leading supplier to the high growth advanced SOC probe card market; (-) Improved and immediately accretive financial performance beginning in the first quarter of 2013; (-) Technology leadership across the Memory and SOC advanced probe card markets.

TowerJazz (TSEM) announced the expansion of its business relationship with Vishay (VSH) -Siliconix with a five-year agreement under the terms of which TowerJazz will manufacture two Vishay Siliconix product families at TowerJazz's Japanese facility (Fab 4) as well as multiple Vishay Siliconix product families at TowerJazz's Fabs 1 and 2 in Migdal HaEmek, Israel.

Oppenheimer raised their Apple (AAPL $680.00 +16.78) target to $800 from $680. The firm notes, AAPL got a decisive win against Samsung on Friday as a US jury awarded it $1.05B in damages for IP-infringement. The firm says, this is a key win for AAPL, but the war's not over. The immediate impact on numbers might not be significant (for Samsung and Apple's shipments) as the appeal could delay shipment disruption and as the impact is only in the US where Apple's share is already high. Beyond the court case, they expect a strong December/March with another record iPhone launch and the mini-iPad introduction and they are raising estimates for the mini-iPad and see potential iPhone upside.

09:23 am Vishay upgraded to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; tgt $13: . Stifel Nicolaus upgrades VSH to Buy from Hold and sets target price at $13 saying they believe the component supplier is well positioned for margin expansion and strong cash flow generation when the component-cycle recovers. Although visibility into the demand picture over the next few quarters remains uncertain, they believe fundamentals have at least stabilized following several significant number cuts, and inventory levels across the supply-chain are relatively lean.

09:22 am Peregrine Semi initiated with a Outperform at Oppenheimer; tgt $20: . Oppenheimer initiates PSMI with a Outperform and price target of $20. After 22 years as a private fabless RFIC supplier, PSMI went public August 8 at $14/sh. Peregrine leverages proprietary UltraCMOS technology to produce parts for the handset, infrastructure and aerospace markets. Handset is the co's top growth/upside driver. As a key supplier to leading OEMs Apple and Samsung, PSMI is the No. 1 supplier of RF antenna switches for smartphones. The increasing complexity of 3G/4G RF front-ends in this high growth segment play to PSMI strengths, positioning the co for long-term success.