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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : Today's session brought resilience to the markets as the key averages recovered the majority of their losses from Monday. The S&P 500 settled higher by 1.0% after spending the duration of the day in a steady climb. The morning sentiment was aided by upbeat European trade where Italian and Spanish markets recovered from yesterday's plunge.

Domestically, seven of ten S&P 500 sectors registered gains in the neighborhood of 1.0%. Tech shares led the way after the sector felt the brunt of Monday's selling. The largest tech stock, Apple (AAPL 457.84, +15.53), outperformed the broader market and ended higher by 3.5%.

The tech sector received some acquisition news today. Dell (DELL 13.42, +0.15) added 1.1% after entering into an agreement to be acquired by Michael Dell-Silver Lake for $13.65 per share. The deal includes a $2 billion loan from Microsoft (MSFT 27.50, +0.05).

Meanwhile, Virgin Media (VMED 45.61, +6.92) jumped 17.9% after the company confirmed its discussions with Liberty Global (LBTYA 67.88, -1.58) regarding a possible transaction.

Among notable tech earnings, ARM Holdings (ARMH 43.69, +1.74) gained 4.2% after beating on revenue. Meanwhile, the broader PHLX Semiconductor Index advanced 1.6%.

In other earnings of note, Archer-Daniel Midlands (ADM 29.38, +0.94) beat on earnings and revenue while Kellogg (K 58.50, +0.40) topped the Capital IQ revenue forecast. The two stocks supported the consumer staples sector, and ended with respective gains of 3.3% and 0.7%.

While staple stocks saw strength across the board, the discretionary sector experienced some pockets of weakness. Restaurant operator Yum! Brands (YUM 62.08, -1.86) shed 2.9% after its quarterly report included cautious guidance. This comes as the company attempts to overcome the negative publicity received after two poultry suppliers provided KFC with chicken containing unapproved antibiotic levels.

Publisher McGraw-Hill (MHP 44.92, -5.38) was another notable laggard in the discretionary space. Shares of the publishing company plunged after the Department of Justice announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against Standard & Poor's, a unit of McGraw-Hill. The Department of Justice is alleging S&P knowingly defrauded investors with its ratings on collateralized debt obligations and mortgage backed securities. McGraw-Hill is down over 20.0% since the charges were announced.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 13.73, -0.94) declined over the course of the session and shed over 7.0%. The near-term volatility measure ended the session at its 20-day average.

Floor volume at the New York Stock Exchange was slightly below average as 702 million shares changed hands over the course of the day.

Today's economic data had little trading impact as the January ISM Services Index was reported at 55.2, which fell short of the 55.6 forecast by the Briefing.com consensus.

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7:00 ET. In notable earnings, CVS Caremark (CVS 51.72, +0.72) and Kraft Foods (KRFT 47.02, +0.62) will report their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell.DJ30 +99.22 NASDAQ +40.41 SP500 +15.58 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1809/2.08 bln/683 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2199/701.9 mln/810

3:30 pm :

Mar crude oil traded in positive territory alongside equities, receiving support from the ISM Services Index data released this morning. After trading in a fairly consolidative pattern, the energy component settled 0.5% higher at $96.66 per barrel, slightly below its session high of $97.07 per barrel.
Mar natural gas extended yesterday's gains as it lifted off its session low of $3.32 per MMBtu set in early morning action and trended higher for the remainder of pit trade. It booked a gain of 2.4% as it settled at $3.40 per MMBtu, or just below its session high of $3.41 per MMBtu.
Apr gold popped to a session high of $1687.00 per ounce in early morning action but retreated into negative territory shortly after the equity market opened. It traded there for the remainder of floor trade and ultimately settled 0.2% lower at $1673.70 per ounce.
Mar silver also fell into negative territory despite trading as high as $32.10 per ounce. However, investors stepped in and brought prices back into the black. Silver trended higher in afternoon floor trade and settled at $31.88 per ounce, or 0.5% higher.

5:02PM Cymer announces stockholder approval of merger agreement with ASML; continue to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2013 (CYMI) 104.31 +0.11 :


4:31PM TTM Tech beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (TTMI) 8.13 +0.18 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.26 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.20; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $382.4 mln vs the $379.75 mln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.07-0.12, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.12 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $310-330 mln vs. $330.32 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
"Looking ahead to the first quarter, we expect a normal seasonal decline in our business. Longer term, we remain optimistic as we are clearly differentiated through our focus on leading edge technology, our diversified end markets, and our broad customer base."

4:30PM MIPS Tech stockholders to receive $8.01 in aggregatenet net proceeds from recapitalization and merger (MIPS) 7.90 +0.02 : Co announced that each holder of MIPS common stock will receive $6.21 in cash and 0.226276 shares of MIPS' common stock in the previously announced proposed recapitalization. As a result, the aggregate net proceeds to each holder of MIPS common stock, following the proposed recapitalization and the proposed acquisition by Imagination Technologies Group plc has increased to $8.01 (U.S.) per share in cash.

4:16PM Infinera beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (INFN) 7.51 +0.20 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.05 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.06); revenues rose 14.4% year/year to $128.1 mln vs the $127.42 mln consensus.

"We are optimistic about the outlook for 2013. Interest in our unique 100G converged DWDM/OTN switching solution remains strong, resulting in significant trial activity, which has helped us build a strong pipeline into 2013. A strong focus on winning footprint and gaining market share, balanced with prudent financial management remain our priorities for 2013,"

4:13PM Silicon Image beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs below consensus (SIMG) 4.58 -0.05 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.03; revenues rose 1.5% year/year to $59.6 mln vs the $59.51 mln consensus.

Guidance: Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $59-$61 mln vs. $61.77 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees Q1 gross margin of ~58% and non-GAAP operating expenses of ~$34.5 mln.

4:05PM Micron launches $440 mln offering of convertible senior notes (MU) 7.87 +0.11 : Co announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other considerations, $220 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2033 and $220 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2033. Micron will use the net proceeds of the offering to finance the repurchase, redemption or repayment of a portion of Micron's 1.875% Convertible Senior Notes due 2014. Pending such uses, Micron intends to invest the net proceeds of the offering in accordance with its existing investment policy.

11:19AM Hewlett-Packard issues statement on Dell's (DELL) leveraged buyout plan; 'believe Dell's customers will now be eager to explore alternatives, and HP plans to take full advantage of that opportunity' (HPQ) 16.36 +0.18 : Co issued the following statement related to Dell's announcement to enter into an agreement to be acquired by Michael Dell and Silver Lake: "Dell has a very tough road ahead. The company faces an extended period of uncertainty and transition that will not be good for its customers. And with a significant debt load, Dell's ability to invest in new products and services will be extremely limited. Leveraged buyouts tend to leave existing customers and innovation at the curb. We believe Dell's customers will now be eager to explore alternatives, and HP plans to take full advantage of that opportunity."


9:20AM Dell acquired by Michael Dell and Silver Lake for $13.65/share in cash (including $2 bln from MSFT, as expected) (DELL) 13.27 : Michael Dell, Dell's Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in partnership with global technology investment firm Silver Lake, will acquire Dell. Under the terms of the agreement, Dell stockholders will receive $13.65 in cash for each share of Dell common stock they hold, in a transaction valued at ~$24.4 billion. The price represents a premium of 25 percent over Dell's closing share price of $10.88 on Jan. 11, 2013, the last trading day before rumors of a possible going-private transaction were first published; a premium of ~35% over Dell's enterprise value as of Jan. 11, 2013.

The merger agreement provides for a so-called "go-shop" period, during which the Special Committee -- with the assistance of Evercore Partners -- will actively solicit, receive, evaluate and potentially enter into negotiations with parties that offer alternative proposals. The initial go-shop period is 45 days.

Following completion of the transaction, Mr. Dell, who owns ~14% of Dell's common shares, will continue to lead the co as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and will maintain a significant equity investment in Dell by contributing his shares of Dell to the new company, as well as making a substantial additional cash investment. The transaction will be financed through a combination of cash and equity contributed by Mr. Dell, cash funded by investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake, cash invested by MSD Capital, L.P., a $2 billion loan from Microsoft (MSFT), rollover of existing debt, as well as debt financing that has been committed by BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets, and cash on hand. There is no financing condition.


Veeco Instruments (VECO) announced that Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne has ordered a NEXUS Ion Beam Etch System.


Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) announced that GLOBALFOUNDRIES has certified essential Cadence technologies for custom/analog, digital and mixed-signal design, implementation, and verification for its 20-nanometer LPM technology.


7:32AM Vishay beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs in-line (VSH) 11.01 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.08; revenues fell 3.8% year/year to $530.6 mln vs the $520.8 mln consensus.

Guidance: "Based on current order trends, we guide for revenues of $520 to $560 million (vs. $531.00 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate) at improved gross margins that benefit from higher volumes and efficiencies."
Q4 comments: "As expected the fourth quarter 2012 was the weakest quarter of the year. But the order intake in the fourth quarter 2012 was higher than in the third quarter 2012 or in the fourth quarter 2011. The normal levels of inventory in the supply chain and a higher degree of confidence at our distribution customers might indicate a potential turn-around of the business. This is supported by a strong book-to-bill ratio for January." Commenting on the outlook for the first quarter 2013 Dr. Paul stated, "Based on current order trends, we guide for revenues of $520 to $560 million at improved gross margins that benefit from higher volumes and efficiencies."

4:30AM ARM Holdings reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (ARMH) 41.95 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of GBP0.04 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of GBP0.04; revenues rose 19.2% year/year to GBP164.2 mln vs the GBP151.4 mln consensus.

Growth in adoption of ARM processor technology

36 processor licenses signed for a broad range of applications, from smartphones and mobile computers to medical devices and microcontrollers
Momentum continues in computing, servers and networking applications with the signing of two ARMv8 architecture licenses, six ARMv8 processor licenses and three ARM Cortex-A15 processor licenses

Growth in shipments of chips based on ARM processor technology

2.5 bln chips shipped
Processor royalty revenue grew 21% year-on-year, driven by strong growth in Cortex-A and Mali -based chips

Outlook
ARM enters 2013 with a robust opportunity pipeline for licensing and a record order backlog. Market share gains in long-term growth sectors look set to continue as our partners introduce new chips based on ARM technology. The global macro-economic environment continues to be characterised by uncertainty and the prospect of low growth for some time. The ongoing influence on consumer and enterprise spending inevitably impacts semiconductor revenues and industry confidence. However, assuming the macroeconomic situation does not deteriorate significantly, we expect group dollar revenues for the full-year to be at least in line with current market expectations.

In recent quarters, the year-on-year growth of ARM's processor royalty revenues has outperformed the semiconductor industry by 15-20%. ARM's royalty revenues for Q1 2013 are based on shipments in Q4 2012. Relevant data for the fourth quarter of 2012 suggests that semiconductor revenues were marginally up year-on-year. Assuming year-on-year royalty growth based on similar trends and given the positive outlook for license revenues, total revenues in the first quarter of 2013 are expected to be around $250 mln.

11:33 am S&P Tech Sector Up 1%, Slightly Outperforming the S&P 500

The tech sector is trading higher today, slightly topping gains in the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative strength as well with the SOX trading 1.0% higher. Within the chip index, POWI (+9.8%) is a notable standout. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.9% higher today, while the QQQ is up 1.0% and the NASDAQ is trading 0.9% higher on the session. Among tech bellwethers, EBAY (+1.8%) is showing notable strength, while IBM (-0.1%) is under pressure.

In tech earnings this morning, CARB (+5.2%) and FN (+7.4%) posted quarterly beats and offered downside guidance, POWI (+9.8%) reported a beat and guided inline, BIDU (-10.9%) posted a slight beat with inline guidance and SWI (-5.1%) posted a beat and upside guidance. This morning, NIHD (-4.7%) offered mixed guidance, while CSC (+10.0%) posted a beat and raise.

In news, DELL (+0.9%) will be acquired by Michael Dell and Silver Lake for $13.65/share in cash (including $2 bln from MSFT (+0.4%), as expected). Also, EA (+3.8%) CEO discloses buying 31,300 shares at $15.73 to $16.09 on 2/1, worth ~$500K.

Among rumors, VMED (+16.7%) is in talks to sell to LBTYA (-3.5%), according to reports.

Among notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space, ZNGA (+6.3%) was upgraded to Buy at BofA/Merrill and RBC upgraded MRVL (+1.7%) to Outperform.

Among downgrades, BIDU (-10.9%) was downgraded at Raymond James and Stifel and ACIW (+0.5%) was downgraded to Mkt Perform at Raymond James.

ZNGA (+6.5%) is a notable name in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close.