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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The major averages settled firmly lower with the S&P 500 down 0.6%.

Equities began the session amid broad losses after the conditions of a Cypriot bailout put the package in jeopardy of being voted down in the country's parliament. Per the original agreement, Eurozone rescue funds would provide Cyprus with EUR10 billion in recapitalization with a 'stability levy' imposed on all bank accounts expected to raise an additional EUR5.8 billion.

The deposit tax is the main cause for the delay as residents push back against the measure. In addition, global investors viewed this is as a possible precursor to a similar tax being levied on bank accounts elsewhere, should other troubled sovereigns ask for help.

The developments weighed on European markets where peripheral indices trailed behind their core counterparts. In addition, a modest safety bid sent the German 10-yr yield lower by five basis points to 1.41%.

After opening sharply lower, U.S. equities climbed steadily into the afternoon. However, stocks slipped off their best levels of the day when reports indicated the parliamentary vote scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed indefinitely.

The financial sector bore the brunt of today's selling as bank stocks tend to show increased sensitivity in the face of political or economic uncertainty. Morgan Stanley (MS 22.99, -0.60) was the weakest performer among the majors, and the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 18.27, -0.18) lost 1.0%.

Notably, European financials saw wider losses than their U.S. counterparts. Barclays (BCS 18.44, -0.79) and Deutsche Bank (DB 43.02, -1.61) settled lower by 4.1% and 3.6%, respectively.

In addition to financials, other cyclical sectors trailed behind the broader market. However, the technology space was an exception. The growth-oriented sector finished among session leaders with Apple (AAPL 455.72, +12.06) contributing to the relative strength. The largest tech stock advanced 2.7% amid continued speculation the company may hike its quarterly dividend in the near future.

Although a handful of large cap components registered gains, chipmakers ended broadly lower. The PHLX Semiconductor Index, which tracks 30 microchip manufacturers, settled lower by 1.3%.

On the upside, the defensively-oriented telecom space spent the bulk of the day in positive territory. Verizon Communications (VZ 48.75, +0.73) added 1.5% after Citigroup upgraded shares of Verizon to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.' The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 13.60, +2.30) spiked over 20.0%. The near-term volatility measure has returned to levels last seen at the beginning of the month after sliding to multi-year lows in recent days.

Interestingly, trading volume finished below average as just over 675 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

In the metals market, gold futures climbed 0.7% to $1603.90 while silver ended little changed at $28.86. Also of note, copper fell 3.0% to its lowest level since November of last year. The weakness was a result of a technical breakdown combined with fears of tighter policy in China after February home sales rose at their fastest pace since December 2011.

Today's economic data was limited to the March NAHB Housing Market Index, which registered a reading of 44. This was lower from the prior month's reading of 46, and also short of the Briefing.com consensus which called for a reading of 48.

Tomorrow's economic news will focus on housing with February housing starts and building permits scheduled to be reported at 8:30 ET.DJ30 -62.05 NASDAQ -11.48 SP500 -8.60 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 865/1.48 bln/1617 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1170/676.2 mln/1868

3:30 pm : Crude oil traded in negative territory until the late-morning session. Crude fell as low as $91.76/barrel, but recovered all of the overnight/morning losses and ended the day 0.3% higher.

Natural gas futures (continuous contract) came just $0.03 short of hitting its 13-month high of $4.03/MMBtu, which was hit in November 2012. The energy component ultimately sold off in the afternoon session and fell to a new session low.

Gold prices spent the whole session in positive territory, pushing above the $1600 mark and rising as high as $1610.30. By the end of today's session, Apr gold futures finished 0.7% higher. Silver was lagging gold prices today, but still managed to end the day with a small gain. The precious metal spent almost the entire overnight/early morning session in the red and then went on spend the majority of its time in positive territory, putting a session high in of $29.05/oz. At the end of today's session, silver rose three cents to $28.88/oz.DJ30 -40.92 NASDAQ -8.41 SP500 -7.60 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 894/1225.8 mln/1573 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1182/431 mln/1838

HPQ (22.83 +2.93%): Upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; announced strong momentum of the current HP Indigo Digial Press portfolio

NXPI (30.27 -3.01%): Seeing reports that Samsung will use a Broadcom NFC controller in its Galaxy S4; Samsung had previously used technology from NXP

Riverbed Technology (RVBD) announced that Flughafen Zurich AG deployed Riverbed Cascade Shark and Cascade Pilot to improve network monitoring, configuration, and troubleshooting across 150 national and international networks.

9:04AM TTM Tech signs definitive agreements for SYE and DMC plants (TTMI) 7.89 : The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2013, subject to certain closing conditions between the parties and regulatory approvals. TTM anticipates the transaction will generate approximately $84 million net for TTM, and expects to use about $40 million of the proceeds to repay an intercompany loan to SYE. The negotiated purchase prices valued SYE at 1 billion RMB (approximately $161 million USD) and DMC at 900 million RMB (approximately $145 million USD).

AMD (AMD) announced a collaboration with Aviary to bring an optimized version of its photo editing tool to Windows 8 PCs and tablets powered by AMD accelerated processing units.

8:05AM Suntech Power confirms default with respect to its 3% convertible notes (STP) 0.70 : Co announced that it has received from the trustee of its 3% Convertible Notes a notice of default and acceleration relating to Suntech's non-payment of the principal amount of US$541 million that was due to holders of the Notes on March 15, 2013. Such event of default has also triggered cross-defaults under Suntech's other outstanding debt, including its loans from International Finance Corporation and Chinese domestic lenders.

As previously announced, Suntech has entered into a forbearance agreement with holders of over 60% of the Notes, one of the terms of which is that the forbearing Note holders will cooperate with Suntech in addressing certain legal proceedings that may be initiated against it. Suntech understands that those Note holders have also requested the trustee under the Notes not to take any further action as consensual restructuring discussions continue. Suntech is thus far unaware of any legal proceedings initiated by any Note holders against the Company.

Suntech intends to continue to engage with holders of the Notes and other lenders with a view to achieving a consensual restructuring. Suntech is also continuing its efforts to restructure and increase the cost-efficiency of its operations, maintain business relationships with its existing customers and suppliers, and seek additional sources of capital to meet its ongoing operational requirements and debt repayment obligations.

In addition, Suntech is in discussions with certain of its suppliers and lenders relating to various other claims for non-payment or non-performance, which the Company hopes to resolve in a timely manner. David King, Suntech's CEO, stated, "It is currently a very difficult time for our company and our industry, but the management and board of Suntech are committed to finding a way forward that will take into account the rights and interests of all of its constituents, including shareholders, noteholders, lenders, customers, suppliers and employees. We are currently exploring strategic alternatives with lenders and potential investors, which could help to set us on a path towards longer term success".

NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) introduced a groundbreaking family of programmable AISG transceivers for wireless base stations and antenna line devices such as tower-mounted amplifiers and remote electric tilt antennas.

The main steps agreed upon to split up the JV are the following:

Ericsson will take on the design, development and sales of the LTE multimode thin modem products, including 2G, 3G and 4G multimode
ST will take on the existing ST-Ericsson products, other than LTE multimode thin modems, and related business as well as certain assembly and test facilities
Starting the close down of the remaining parts of ST-Ericsson.

Additional considerations:

The formal transfer of the relevant parts of ST-Ericsson to the parent companies is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.
After the split up it is proposed that Ericsson will assume ~1,800 employees and contractors, with the largest concentrations in Sweden, Germany, India and China.
It is also proposed that ST will assume ~950 employees, primarily in France and in Italy, to support ongoing business and new products development within ST.

The agreement is fully in line with ST's financial model target of an operating margin of 10 percent or more and with plans to reduce quarterly net operating expenses to an average quarterly rate in the range of $600-650 mln by the beginning of 2014. In addition, as a result of the agreement, ST expects to incur cash costs, including the covering of ST-Ericsson's ongoing operations during the transition period and its restructuring costs, in the range of ~$350-450 mln, narrower than the range provided at the end of January 2013.

08:53 am Dell shares little changed following response to Carl Icahn
Dell (DELL $14.15 --0.16) disclosed "In a filing co disclosed its response to a letter requesting information that was made available to Carl Icahn. Co writes: "I write on behalf of Dell in reply to your recent correspondence, including the March 11, 2013 "First supplemental demand for records" which seeks "all communications by the Company and its representatives with Icahn Enterprises, L.P., its affiliates and representatives and "all information made available to Icahn." For reasons similar to those stated in the Company's letter to you dated March 12, 2013, by which the Company rejected your original "Demand for records" the Supplemental Demand fails to comply with 8 Del. C. 220.