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From Briefing.com: 4:05 pm : Today's session began on a positive note as upbeat European trade contributed to the bullish sentiment. However, the strength was temporary and the S&P 500 turned lower once the November ISM Index of 49.5 missed expectations. After sliding to its lows shortly after midday, the S&P 500 remained in the red and settled lower by 0.5%.

The materials sector was the biggest laggard as chemical producers saw broad weakness. In addition, utility and industrial stocks underperformed as well. The telecom space was the only advancer as defensive trade took hold.

Looking back at November, equities ended the month largely unchanged despite a mid-month stumble. The S&P 500 lost over 4.0% during the first half of the month, and managed a swift recovery. Headline-driven trade proved to be alive and well as the market hung on every word out of Washington regarding the ongoing budget talks.

In addition, European uncertainty remained palpable as Eurozone and International Monetary Fund officials spent longer than expected ironing out the details of the next tranche of Greek aid. The repeated attempts at implementing reforms have proven futile, and the sovereign's financial health has shown no signs of improvement. Due to this, officials, as well as the markets, are growing more skeptical regarding the country's ability at fulfilling further obligations. Elsewhere, Spanish region of Catalonia held an election, and the vote favored parties which support holding a referendum on secession.

Domestically, the attention turned to the budget debate after Barack Obama was reelected to second term as president.

Markets Unimpressed by Election Results

The major averages entered the November 7 election on an upbeat note. On Election Day, the S&P 500 advanced almost 1%, and the benchmark index ended the day just 3% below its 2012 high of 1474.51. That evening, equity futures saw a positive initial reaction to Mr. Obama's victory. However, sentiment turned as the morning approached and European markets began reacting to the results. The loss of optimism was attributed to questions whether a Democratic president and a split Congress can strike a budget deal to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. After President Obama was declared victor, the S&P 500 opened lower by 1%. Broad-based weakness persisted throughout the day and pressured the index to a loss of 2.4%.

The next six sessions saw continued softness and the S&P 500 lost an additional 3%. This was also notable from the technical standpoint because the slide brought the index below its 200-day moving average. As the markets continued heading south, Congressional leaders, as well as the President, held numerous press conferences aimed at reassuring the public regarding their determination to reach consensus. Despite the reassurances, the two sides maintained a familiar tone. President Obama insisted on increasing revenuemainly through tax hikes for top earners while House Speaker Boehner was more focused on spending cuts.

Apple Halts its Slide

On September 21, Apple (AAPL) marked its all-time high at $705.07. However, the following month saw the stock slide over 15% as shares approached bear market territory. The softness was notable as the S&P 500 shed only 2.2% during the same period. As such, early November weakness weighed on the largest tech component and caused it to underperform the market once again. The post-election sell-off resulted in Apple dipping another 9% before a mid-month reversal helped the stock recover its first-half losses entirely.

Utilities Suffer

Before Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on October 29, utility stocks were enjoying a solid six-month run. However, the storm caused considerable damage to infrastructure and weighed on electrical utilities. In addition, industry standards came into question after some areas remained without power for weeks. To investigate the matter, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed a special panel tasked with evaluating electric utilities' preparedness for extreme events. With the sector under scrutiny, investors considered the possibility of tighter regulation and increased costs for electric companies. As a result, the SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF (XLF) lost nearly 5% during the month. Some commentators suggested the anticipation of a dividend tax hike at the end of the year is also responsible for the weakness. However, it should be noted that the high-yielding telecom sector was largely unchanged on the month.

Coal Burns Out

During the first presidential debate, Republican challenger Mitt Romney said he "likes coal." The remarks prompted a surge in coal stocks, and fueled the Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL) to a 10% gain going into the election. President Obama's victory ensured that the administration will continue to favor cleaner energy, and coal stocks responded by retreating. Since November 7, KOL fell nearly 9% while individual names like Alpha Natural Resources (ANR, -25%), James River Coal (JRCC, -25%), and Peabody Energy (BTU -14%) saw significant losses.

Thanksgiving Rally Led by Turkeys of the Year

The Thanksgiving week saw a thin-volume rally, which halted the post-election slide. Interestingly, some of the top performers during that stretch were stocks that had suffered heavy losses during earlier months. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR, +46%), Groupon (GRPN, +52%), Nokia (NOK, +20%), and Research In Motion (RIMM, +26%)were among the names which underperformed going into the month, but saw outsized gains in the 30 days since.

Post-election Winners Flying Under the Radar

In addition to influencing near-term sentiment, the November election also created ripples in some thinly-traded corners of the market. Gun makers shot up following President Obama's reelection. On November 8, the S&P 500 lost over 2% but Smith & Wesson (SWHC) and Sturm, Ruger & Co (RGR) surged 7% and 10%, respectively. The two stocks continued their run and ended the month with respective gains of 13% and 33%. The post-election surge was sparked by concerns over tighter gun regulation during the President's second term. The concern was confirmed on Black Friday when 154,873 FBI background check requests for gun sales topped last year's one-day record by 20%. Gunsmiths enjoyed a tremendous run on the back of same regulatory concerns when President Obama was first elected. Since 2009, quarterly results of the two companies have frequently shown notable increases in order backlog as they struggled to keep up with the demand. The industry strength is confirmed in stock price as Smith & Wesson trades 370% above its value four years ago while Sturm & Ruger has added an eye-popping 900%.

Looking to December: Budget Showdown Front and Center

In December, markets will remain focused on the budget debate as the cliff nears. It is also likely that frequent press conferences aimed at calming the markets will continue. However, until a deal is reached, short-term volatility is likely to persist as investors continue showing heightened sensitivity to headlines and news reports.DJ30 -59.98 NASDAQ -8.04 SP500 -6.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1111/1.61 bln/1372 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1176/654.2 mln/1816

3:30 pm : Crude oil climbed to a session high of $90.33 per barrel in morning pit action but lost momentum despite a weaker dollar index. It tumbled into negative territory and brushed a session low of $88.75 per barrel. The energy component managed to inch slightly higher as it headed into the close and settled with a 0.1% gain at $89.05 per barrel.

Natural gas chopped around in positive territory, popping as high as $3.65 per MMBtu in late morning action. It dipped to a session low of $3.59 per MMBtu, but buyers stepped in and pushed prices back up such that natural gas settled 1.7% higher at $3.62 per MMBtu.

Precious metals traded in positive territory during today's pit trade as the weaker dollar index and U.S. economic data supported their advance. Both gold and silver popped to their respective session highs of $1724.90 per ounce and $33.93 per ounce on latest ISM Index data that showed the manufacturing sector contracting in November. Gains held steady for the remainder of the session with gold eventually settling 0.5% higher at $1721.10 per ounce and silver settling 1.3% higher at $33.74 per ounce.DJ30 -51.59 NASDAQ -7.56 SP500 -6.31 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1068/1345 mln/1410 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1091/423 mln/1884

4:03PM Oracle accelerates payment of three quarters of dividends (ORCL) 32.31 +0.14 : Co's Board has declared an accelerated second, third and fourth quarter cash dividend totaling $0.18 per share of outstanding common stock. Oracle's CEO and largest stockholder did not participate in the deliberation or the vote on this matter. This accelerated dividend is intended by the Board to be in lieu of quarterly dividends Oracle would have otherwise announced with its quarterly earnings results for the second, third and fourth quarters of FY13, and that would have been paid in calendar year 2013. This accelerated dividend will be paid to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 14, 2012, with a payment date of December 21, 2012. The next opportunity for the Board to consider and approve the declaration of a dividend will be when Oracle announces its earnings results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014 which ends on August 31, 2013.

4:02PM Flextronics acquires Saturn Electronics & Engineering, terms not disclosed (FLEX) 5.77 -0.03 : Co announced that it has acquired Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc., a supplier of electronics manufacturing services, solenoids and wiring for the automotive, appliance, consumer, energy and industrial markets. Based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Saturn Electronics & Engineering most recently reported more than $300 million in annual revenue. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

STEC (STEC) announced the voluntary offer by Mark Moshayedi, president and chief executive officer, and Manouch Moshayedi, founder, to cut their annual salaries to $1 in response to STEC's ongoing efforts to lower its costs and improve its overall financial performance.

First Solar (FSLR) has completed an agreement with Zhenfa New Energy Science & Technology to supply 2 megawatts of its thin-film solar modules to one of Zhenfa's approved solar projects in Xinjiang province in the first quarter of 2013.


Qualcomm (QCOM) announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Life, is collaborating with new technology partners and customers who are leveraging the 2net Platform and Hub to enable wireless connectivity of medical devices and applications.


NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) announced its Advanced ASC884xA and ASC885xA series of single-chip video processors for HD IP security cameras.


SunPower (SPWR) announced that it signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture with partners Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor, Inner Mongolia Power Group and Hohhot Jinqiao City Development Co for the manufacturing and deployment of the company's proprietary SunPower C7 Tracker concentrator technology in the Chinese market.

MagnaChip Semiconductor (MX) announced that it has partnered with eMemory Technology, of Taiwan in the development of leading edge 0.18um EEPROM intellectual property.


5:55AM Canadian Solar receives CAD139 mln non-recourse construction financing agreement (CSIQ) 2.63 : Co announces that it has signed a financing agreement pursuant to which Deutsche Bank has agreed to provide CAD139 mln ($139 mln) in non-recourse, short-term construction financing to Canadian Solar for the construction of solar power projects in Ontario, Canada. The loans are expected to be repaid with the proceeds of the sale of the respective financed projects. The loan facility is intended to support the simultaneous construction of five utility-scale solar power plants totaling 49 MW AC.


Vitesse Semiconductor (VTSS) announced availability of a new Network Interface Device/Ethernet Access Device (NID/EAD) reference design delivering carrier-class networking for delivery of cloud-based business services.


LDK Solar (LDK) reported third quarter GAAP net loss of $1.08 and may not compare to ($1.24) Capital IQ consensus estimate; revenues increased 24% YoY to $291.5 million versus $246.4 million estimate. Co Shipped 230.2 megawatts of wafers and 161.9 MW of cells and modules in the third quarter. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, LDK Solar estimates its revenue to be in the range of $230-290 million and may not compare to $604.9 million est, wafer shipments between 200-250 MW, cells and module shipments between 50-80 MW.

Yahoo (YHOO) reports that the 49th Civil Court of the Federal District of Mexico City has entered a non-final judgment of $2.7 billion against Yahoo and Yahoo de Mexico, S.A. in a lawsuit brought by plaintiffs Worldwide Directories and Ideas Interactivas. Yahoo believes the plaintiffs' claims are without merit and will vigorously pursue all appeals. The plaintiffs alleged claims of breach of contract, breach of promise, and lost profits arising from contracts related to a yellow pages listings service.

Needham upgrades Finisar (FNSR) to Buy from Hold and sets target price at $18 based on expectations of improved new product momentum and service provider spending conditions for CY13. The firm thinks Finisar is seeing improved demand for its ROADM line card and LCoS WSS modules. They think new products such as the LR4 40/100G offering remain sold out and are producing strong growth.

09:53 am Information Technology Sector trading higher and ahead of the overall market today

The tech sector is trading higher today, ahead of gains in the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative weakness, however, with the SOX trading only 0.1% higher. Within the chip index, AMD (+4.6%) is a notable standout. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.3% higher today, while the QQQ is up 0.6% and the NASDAQ is trading 0.4% higher on the session. Among tech bellwethers, AAPL (+1.3%) is displaying notable strength, while FB (-0.4%) is under pressure.

There were no earnings of note in the tech sector. In news, TESS (+1.8%) declared a one-time dividend and its CFO announced his departure to pursue new professional opportunities. EFX (+5.4%) announced it will purchase certain credit services business assets and operations of CSC (+4.3%) for $1.0 bln in cash. EFX sees the deal as accretive. In notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space, ARMH (-0.1%) was upgraded to Outperform at Exane BNP Paribas, Needham upgraded FNSR (+2.4%) to Buy, ERIC (+1.2%) was upgraded to Outperform at RBC, CSC (+4.2%) was upgraded to Outperform at Cowen and DELL (+7.4%) was upgraded to Buy at Goldman. Among downgrades, ELX (-5.5%) and QLGC (-6.3%) were downgraded to Sell at Goldman, KNXA (0.0%) was downgraded to Mkt Perform at JMP, and RATE (-6.7%) and RIMM (-2.4%) were downgraded to Hold at Canaccord. There are no notable names in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close.