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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : Equities began the day on a mixed note, but the slightly bearish bias which persisted throughout the day caused the major averages to end near their lows. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, and was the weakest performing index.

Shortly before the open, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said fourth quarter GDP contracted by 0.1%. This fell short of the 1.0% growth forecast by the Briefing.com consensus. While the number was a disappointment on the surface, a 22.2% decline in government defense spending contributed to the miss. Meanwhile, personal consumption expenditures, which account for more than 70% of GDP, rose 2.2%. This was the largest quarterly uptick since a 2.4% increase in consumption was reported during the first quarter of 2012. Additionally, the rise in spending was slightly above its eight-month average rate of change.

Morning trade proved to be largely uneventful as investors anticipated the afternoon policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee. The pronouncements on the economy, inflation, and inflation expectations were little changed. It was said that growth in economic activity "has paused in recent months," but there didn't appear to be any undue concern about an extended downturn as the "pause" was attributed largely to weather and other transitory factors. The asset purchase program is expected to remain in place until unemployment slips below 6.5% or inflation projections take a turn for the worse.

While the FOMC statement and the GDP reading were in focus today, the market also received earnings from two notable names.

Amazon.com (AMZN 272.76, +12.41) jumped 4.8% after the online merchant reported its operating income well ahead of analyst expectations. The strength in Amazon helped the Nasdaq outperform for the bulk of the day, but the index succumbed to broader market weakness in afternoon trade.

Also of note, Boeing (BA 74.59, +0.94) gained 1.3% after its top and bottom lines came in ahead of the Capital IQ consensus estimates. However, the defense contractor guided its full-year 2013 earnings and revenue below consensus.

Though Boeing outperformed, the industrial space lost 0.9%, and was the worst performing S&P 500 sector.

Elsewhere, the Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 1.5%, and was a notable laggard. The bellwether sector lagged considerably as 17 of its 20 components settled with losses. The four railroads which comprise the transportation average were all down in excess of 1.0% with Union Pacific (UNP 131.17, -3.59) sagging 2.7%.

In addition, trucking stocks were broadly weaker. Con-way (CNW 31.56, -1.06) fell 3.3% while CH Robinson (CHRW 67.14, -0.78), JB Hunt (JBHT 67.19, -0.90), and Landstar (LSTR 58.36, -0.85) lost near 1.5% each. Note that today's underperformance from transportation stocks came after the average rallied more than 8.0% since the start of 2013.

As mentioned earlier, the S&P 500 was pressured by industrials (-0.9%). In addition, energy (-0.7%), materials (-0.6%), and financials (-0.5%) weighed. On the upside, utilities (UNCH) outperformed, and the sector was followed by discretionary (-0.2%) and consumer staples (-0.2%).

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.27, +0.96) added more than 7.0%, and settled at its highest level since January 7. Looking at the term structure of VIX futures, the front-month contracts received the most notable interest during today's session. In addition, October VIX futures have crept up to 20.00.

Today's floor volume at the New York Stock Exchange was in-line with its 50-day average as just over 700 million shares changed hands.

Looking back at the day's economic data, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index declined by 8.1% to follow last week's uptick of 7.0%.

According to today's ADP National Employment Report, employment in the nonfarm private business sector rose by 192K in January. This was above the 175K increase expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The prior month's reading was revised down to 185K from 215K.

Tomorrow, investors will receive a full slate of economic releases. At 7:30 ET, January Challenger Job Cuts will be announced. At 8:30, weekly initial and continuing claims, December personal income, personal spending, core PCE prices, and fourth quarter employment cost index will all be reported. Finally, the January Chicago PMI will cross the wires at 9:45 ET. In earnings of note, Dow Chemical (DOW 34.61, -0.12) and UPS (UPS 81.23, -0.98) will announce their quarterly results ahead of the open.DJ30 -44.00 NASDAQ -11.35 SP500 -5.88 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 755/1.94 bln/1722 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 990/704.6 mln/1969

3:30 pm :

Crude oil dipped into negative territory and to its session low of $97.34 per barrel following inventory data that showed a build of 5.947 mln barrels when a smaller build of 2.55 mln barrels was anticipated. However, the energy component recovered back into the black as a weaker dollar index gave a boost to prices. It brushed a session high of $97.98 per barrel moments before settling with a 0.4% gain at $97.94 per barrel.
Natural gas rose for the first time following six consecutive sessions of losses. It came off its session low of $3.27 per MMBtu and trended higher to a session high of $3.34 per MMBtu. It settled at $3.34 per MMBtu for a gain of 2.5%.
Gold brushed a session low of $1662.30 per ounce shortly after pit trade opened but rallied moments later on GDP data that fell short of expectations. The yellow metal advanced to a session high of $1682.20 per ounce and held steady, settling the session 1.2% higher at $1680.00 per ounce.
Silver also rose as the dollar index weakened. It lifted from its session low of $31.25 per ounce and brushed a session high of $32.19 per ounce before settling with 3.1% higher at $32.18 per ounce.

6:00PM STMicroelectronics and Ericsson (ERIC) joint venture reports Q4 results (STM) 8.32 -0.07 : ST-Ericsson, a joint venture of STMicroelectronics (STM) and Ericsson (ERIC), reported financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2012. Sales in the fourth quarter were approximately flat sequentially, in line with the guidance provided, reflecting growing contribution from NovaThor platform shipments as well as $43 million revenues from IP licensing. NovaThor ModAp shipments grew by 45% sequentially to 10.7 million units. Adjusted operating loss decreased to $133 million as a further result of the execution of the strategic plan announced in April. Since the first quarter 2012 operating losses have been reduced by 55%, decreasing by $164 million.

5:30PM STMicroelectronics misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line (STM) 8.32 -0.07 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.07); revenues fell 1.3% year/year to $2.16 bln vs the $2.15 bln consensus

5:16PM Applied Materials confirms departure of CFO Geroge Davis (AMAT) 12.86 +0.06 : Co announced that George S. Davis, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), will be departing the company effective March 8, 2013. The company expects to name a successor in the coming weeks after a review of both internal and external candidates. Davis will be taking up the position of CFO for Qualcomm Incorporated.

5:00PM Jabil Circuit names William E. Peters to the position of President and William D. Muir, Jr. to COO, effective March 1, 2013 (JBL) 19.10 -0.05 : Co has named William E. Peters to the position of President and William D. Muir, Jr. to Chief Operating Officer, effective March 1, 2013. Bill Peters, Executive Vice President, since 2010, joined Jabil in 1990 as a buyer and shortly thereafter was named Purchasing Manager. Bill Muir, Executive Vice President, since April 2010, joined Jabil in 1992 as a Quality Engineer. As previously announced, current Chief Operating Officer Mark T. Mondello, will assume the Chief Executive Officer role, effective March 1, 2013.

5:00PM Qualcomm: Bill Keitel to retire as Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer, George Davis (AMAT CFO) to replace (QCOM) 63.53 +0.08 : William (Bill) Keitel has decided to retire as Qualcomm executive vice president and chief financial officer. George S. Davis, currently executive vice president and chief financial officer of Applied Materials (AMAT), will replace Mr. Keitel effective March 11, 2013. Keitel will continue as chief financial officer until that time, and will then assist with the transition and serve as special advisor to the CEO for the remainder of the calendar year.

4:35PM MKS Instruments beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs in-line (MKSI) 27.55 -0.03 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.01); revenues fell 22.1% year/year to $133.8 mln vs the $125.16 mln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of ($0.06)-$0.08 vs. $0.06 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $125-145 mln vs. $128.64 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:33PM Skyworks reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (SWKS) 21.56 +0.39 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.54 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.54; revenues rose 15.2% year/year to $453.7 mln vs the $450.57 mln consensus.

Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.47, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.47 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of ~$420 mln vs. $417.36 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Expands operating margin 70 bps QoQ to 25.3 percent on a non-GAAP basis; repurchased 1.9 million shares of common stock

4:24PM Extreme Networks reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (EXTR) 3.57 -0.09 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.03 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.03; revenues fell 8.7% year/year to $75.6 mln vs the $75.92 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.04-0.08, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.02 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $70-75 mln vs. $70.69 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:24PM MIPS Tech reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (MIPS) 7.87 0.00 : Reports Q2 (Dec) loss of $0.01 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of ($0.01); revenues fell 4.6% year/year to $14.59 mln vs the $13.83 mln consensus.

4:17PM Silicon Graphics beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; Co issued Q2 $0.07-0.10 EPS guidance on Jan 15, and lowered revenue expectations (see below) (SGI) 12.83 -0.53 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.08; revenues fell 12.3% year/year to $171.2 mln vs the $170.5 mln consensus.

Co issues upside EPS guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.12-0.18, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.07 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $200-230 mln vs. $210.00 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

On Jan 15, the co issued EPS guidance and lowered revenue guidance.
Co said," Silicon Graphics sees Q2 adj. EPS $0.07-0.10 vs $0.05 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; lowers rev to $170-172 mln vs $189.84 mln Capital IQ Consensus."

4:16PM Cohu reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs below consensus (COHU) 10.70 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.13 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of ($0.13); revenues fell 23.9% year/year to $50.7 mln vs the $48.25 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $52-57 mln vs. $68.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Orders were $42.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 and $50.1 million for the third quarter of 2012. Orders for semiconductor equipment were $33.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to $38.5 million in the third quarter of 2012.

"Fourth quarter results were higher than our guidance and benefited from recurring business in our semiconductor equipment group. Equipment utilization on customer test floors was generally flat during the quarter, limiting the need for new capacity. With the exception of technology-related buys, customers remain cautious and weak macroeconomic conditions are likely to continue to affect business over the near term."

4:15PM Applied Micro beats by $0.02, beats on revs (AMCC) 8.66 -0.36 : Reports Q3 (Dec) loss of $0.10 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.12); revenues fell 8.2% year/year to $51.7 mln vs the $51.01 mln consensus.

Co states: "In the third quarter we believe we made giant strides in our product development efforts by taping out our 40nm ARM 64-Bit X-Gene server on a chip. We also taped out a test chip for our upcoming 28nm product in January. While we await final benchmarks from the actual silicon, the results from highly correlated simulations indicate that the 40nm chip performance may far exceed our original expectations. In fact, we believe the networking performance of the chip suggests that we may be able to further penetrate into Enterprise class solutions. I am also very pleased with the improvements in our base business, reflected in continued quarter over quarter revenue growth."

4:13PM Facebook beats by $0.02, beats on revs (FB) 31.24 +0.45 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.15; revenues rose 40.1% year/year to $1.59 bln vs the $1.52 bln consensus.

Mobile revenue represented ~23% of advertising revenue for the fourth quarter of 2012, up from ~14% of advertising revenue in the third quarter of 2012.
Revenue from advertising was $1.33 billion, representing 84% of total revenue and a 41% increase from the same quarter last year. Excluding the impact of year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates, advertising revenue would have increased by 43%.
Co reported Monthly Average Users increased 25% YoY to 1.06 bln versus 26% YoY growth rate in Q3.
Co reported Daily Average Users increased 28% YoY to 618 mln versus 28% YoY growth rate in Q3.
Co reported Mobile MAU's increased 57% YoY to 680 mln versus 61% YoY growth rate in Q3.

4:12PM Intersil reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (ISIL) 8.66 -0.27 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.06 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.06; revenues fell 17.1% year/year to $137.5 mln vs the $138.19 mln consensus.

Guidance: Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.02-0.05 vs. $0.06 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $131-138 mln vs. $138.66 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Gross margin is expected to be ~54%.

Commentary: "As expected, fourth quarter demand continued to be weak, nevertheless we achieved the mid-point of our revenue and non-GAAP earnings guidance. As market conditions remain uncertain, our near term focus will be on earnings, protection of our strong balance sheet and completing our CEO search."

4:11PM Integrated Silicon reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (ISSI) 9.90 +0.18 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 15.5% year/year to $76.4 mln vs the $78.11 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.14-0.18, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.23 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $70-75 mln vs. $79.14 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:09PM Qualcomm beats by $0.14, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; raises Fy13 outlook (QCOM) 63.53 +0.08 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.26 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.14 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.12; revenues rose 28.6% year/year to $6.02 bln vs the $5.9 bln consensus.

First Quarter Key Business Metrics MSMTM chip shipments: 182 million units, up 17 percent y-o-y and 29% QoQ. September quarter total reported device sales: ~$53.3 billion, up 29 percent y-o-y and 15 percent QoQ. September quarter estimated 3G/4G device shipments: ~233 to 237 million units, at an estimated average selling price of ~$224 to $230 per unit.

Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.10-1.18, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.10 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $5.8-6.3 bln vs. $5.89 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Co issues guidance for FY13, raises EPS to $4.25-4.45, excluding non-recurring items, from $4.12-4.32 vs. $4.32 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; raises FY13 revs to $23.4-24.4 bln from $23-24 bln vs. $23.57 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
4:07PM JDS Uniphase beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs in-line (JDSU) 12.40 -0.66 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14; revenues rose 4.9% year/year to $429.4 mln vs the $422.66 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $405-425 mln vs. $414.30 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

*Non-GAAP gross margin was 48.0%.

*Co states, "JDSU delivered a strong fiscal Q2, with revenue at the top of our guidance range and operating margins exceeding expectations across all three business segments. We are pleased with the progress we've made in aligning our product portfolio with customer spending priorities, resulting in a high percentage of revenue from new products and a positive impact on financial results. We are well-positioned for growth opportunities in 2013."
4:03PM MagnaChip Semi beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs in-line (MX) 16.01 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.77 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.71; revenues rose 20.6% year/year to $218.1 mln vs the $218.84 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $201-209 mln vs. $203.08 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Gross margin was $74.3 million or 34.1%, as a percent of revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2012.

"I am very pleased that we ended 2012 with revenue of $819.6 million dollars, up 6.1% from 2011 and outpacing the semiconductor industry, which declined 3.0% this year. While the macro environment remained weak, we have successfully aligned with the growing smartphone and tablet PC market, leveraged our strong relationships with blue chip customers, and delivered 30% more new products in 2012 from the previous year."

11:07AM Research In Motion confirms name change to BlackBerry, effective immediately (RIMM) 14.91 -0.74 : As part of the move, the co will now trade as "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. The changes to the co's ticker symbols will be effective at the start of trading on Monday, Feb 4, 2013.

Veeco Instruments (VECO) announced that Philips Innovation Services, a service provider within Royal Philips Electronics (PHG), has recently qualified a NEXUS Physical Vapor Deposition System at its location on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Netherlands.

8:04AM O2Micro misses by $0.11, beats on revs (OIIM) 3.21 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.35 per share, $0.11 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.24); revenues fell 41.5% year/year to $16.8 mln vs the $16.49 mln consensus; co guided rev to $16-17 mln vs. $18.7 mln on Dec 21.

"Despite these conditions, we remain focused on our progress of shifting the mix of our business to our core strength of high-performance, analog integrated circuits. We also continue to focus on expense management to reach our near-term goal of a return to profitability. We have great confidence in our carefully chosen growth drivers including LED solutions for the general lighting market, battery management solutions targeting multiple markets and power management solutions targeting tablet, smart phone and other markets. We continue to believe that our growth drivers will significantly contribute to revenue and lead to growth in future quarters."

7:34AM Silicon Labs beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs in-line (SLAB) 43.34 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.61 per share, ex items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.58; revenues rose 20.4% year/year to $152.5 mln vs the $147.46 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs down 4-8% sequentially calc to ~$140.3-146 mln vs. $141.26 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Gross margin improved to 61.6 percent for the quarter.
The company's strong performance in 2012 was driven by high growth in the Broadcast and Broad-based products. Broadcast growth was driven by the rapid adoption of the company's TV tuner products, which represented one third of the TV market in 2012. The Broad-based products, which grew more than 30 percent in 2012, significantly outgrew their end markets as the company added customers and expanded its sales channel.

3:10AM Advanced Semi beats on top and bottom lines (ASX) 4.25 : Reports Q4 EPS of NT$0.58 vs NT$0.53 CIQ est; revs increased 21% YoY to NT$56.01 bln vs NT$52.74 bln CIQ est. Gross margin were 19.6% in 4Q12 and remained the same as 3Q12.

Amazon (AMZN) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.27. while revenues rose 22.0% year/year to $21.27 billion versus the $22.26 bln consensus. Guidance: the company sees Q1 operating income of ($285)-65 million versus approximately $260 mln estimate; revenues of $15.0-16.6 billion versus the $16.8 billion consensus Estimate. This guidance includes approximately $285 million for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets, and it assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions or investments are concluded and that there are no further revisions to stock-based compensation estimates.

Freescale Semi (FSL) reported fourth quarter loss of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ consensus of ($0.18), while revenues fell 5.5% year/year to $957 million versus the $946.65 million consensus. The company issued upside guidance for the first quarter with revenues of $945-985 million versus the $943.14 million consensus, gross margin to increase 75-100 bps sequentially.

Broadcom (BRCM) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.76 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.74, while revenues rose 14.3% year/year to $2.08 billion versus the $2.06 bln consensus. The company raised dividend 10% to $0.11/share.

QuinStreet (QNST) reported second quarter earnings of $0.13 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.15, while revenues fell 20.7% year/year to $71.75 million versus the $77.21 mln consensus. The company issued downside guidance for the third quarter with revenues of $75-80 million versus the $81.93 million consensus Estimate. ""Visibility remains limited due to continued product and market transitions in our core Financial Services and Education verticals. Our current expectation for revenue in the March quarter is in the $75 to $80 million range. Adjusted EBITDA margin will likely be in the mid-teens for the quarter, as we will continue to invest in key initiatives for the long term."

Unisys (UIS) reported fourth quarter GAAP earnings of $1.67 per share (including pension expense), $0.67 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $1.00, while revenues fell 0.6% year/year to $979.3 million versus the $923.9 mln consensus. International revenue grew 6% in Q4, largely offsetting a 10% decline in U.S. revenue. On a constant currency basis, international revenue grew 7% as increases in Europe and Latin America offset declines in Asia Pacific. The co reported an overall fourth-quarter 2012 gross profit margin of 29.2%, up from 28.4% in the year-ago quarter. Q4 services revenue declined 4% (3% on a constant currency basis) from the prior-year quarter. Fourth-quarter 2012 services gross profit margin improved slightly to 20.2% from 20.0% a year ago while services operating profit margin declined to 6.6% from 7.6% a year ago. Fourth-quarter 2012 services order signings declined from year-ago levels. Services backlog at December 31, 2012 was $5.1 billion, an 8% decrease from services backlog at December 31, 2011. Q4 technology revenue grew 16% from the prior-year quarter driven by strong sales of ClearPath software and servers. Reflecting the higher ClearPath sales, fourth-quarter 2012 technology gross profit margin improved to 68.1% from 65.9% in the year-ago quarter and technology operating profit margin improved to 43.9% from 37.7% in the year-ago quarter.