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From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : The major averages ended near their highs as the S&P 500 rose 1.0%.

Prior to the open, equity futures suggested slim losses at the start of the session. However, futures climbed off their lows as fund manager David Tepper shared his bullish viewpoint during a morning appearance on CNBC.

When the opening bell sounded, stocks were off to the races as financials paved the way higher. Goldman Sachs (GS 154.52, +4.89) was the top performer among the majors while the financial sector advanced 1.7%.

Three growth-sensitive sectors also finished among the leaders despite the relative weakness across the commodity complex. Crude oil fell 1.0% to $94.20, but the energy sector rose 1.3%.

Elsewhere, copper declined 2.1% to $3.289 per pound while gold shed 0.8% to $1423.70 per ounce. The basic materials sector, however, climbed 1.2%.

Industrials also ended in the black as transportation-related names led the way. The Dow Jones Transportation Average jumped 1.9% to a new record high.

The technology sector did not play along with other cyclical groups. Tech shares lagged throughout the day while afternoon weakness displayed by Apple (AAPL 443.86, -10.88) caused the sector to slip off its highs.

The underperformance of technology weighed on the Nasdaq, which trailed behind the other two major indices. However, the relative strength of biotechnology kept the index from falling too far behind the Dow and S&P.

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 186.18, +3.14) advanced 1.7% to bring its month-to-date gain to 8.1%. Biotechnology also gave a boost to the health care sector, which added 1.0%.

Despite the broader market spending the day near its highs, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 12.76, +0.21) also hovered in the black throughout the session. This suggests investors sought some protection against large swings in the market.

Also of note, the Dollar Index added 0.4% to $83.59, its biggest four-day gain since March 2012.

Economic data was limited to export and import prices. Export prices, excluding agriculture, decreased by 0.5% in April after they had decreased 0.2% during the prior month. Excluding oil, import prices declined 0.2%, which follows last month's decline of 0.2%.

Investors will receive a full slate of economic data tomorrow starting with the 7:00 ET release of the weekly MBA Mortgage Index. April PPI, core PPI, and May Empire Manufacturing will all be reported at 8:30 ET while March net long-term TIC flows will be announced at 9:00 ET. At 9:15 ET, April industrial production and capacity utilization will cross the wires. The day will be topped off with the 10:00 ET release of the May NAHB Housing Market Index. Among earnings of note, Deere (DE 93.77, +1.19) and Macy's (M 47.39, +0.51) will report their results before the opening bell.DJ30 +123.57 NASDAQ +23.82 SP500 +16.57 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1756/1.74 bln/739 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2035/700.1 mln/982
3:00 pm : The S&P 500 continues to trade near its highs as today's session enters its final hour.

In the foreign exchange market, the Dollar Index trades higher by 0.3%, putting it on track for its fourth day of gains. Hovering near 83.55, the Index is poised to notch its best close since July with the bulk of today's strength coming at the expense of the Australian dollar and the Swiss franc.

The Aussie is lower by 70 pips at .9880 against the greenback as trade breaks down to a fresh 11-month low. Sellers have been in control for the past seven sessions, with the hard currency giving up almost 500 pips over that time.

Elsewhere, the dollar is higher by 70 pips near .9640 versus the franc. Today's bid has fueled a move to the best level since August as the current action tests the 200-week moving average.

4:32PM Photronics misses by $0.01, misses on revs (PLAB) : Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.09; revenues fell 9.2% year/year to $106.7 mln vs the $108.46 mln consensus.

4:29PM TranSwitch hires Needham & Company to evaluate strategic alternatives (TXCC) 0.40 -0.01 : Co announced that it has retained Needham & Company as financial advisor to assist the Board of Directors in evaluating various strategic alternatives available to the Company. "As a result of certain confidential inquiries TranSwitch has received, our Board has concluded that hiring Needham and Company to assist in evaluating all of our alternatives best furthers the interests of our shareholders," stated Dr. M. Ali Khatibzadeh, President and CEO of TranSwitch Corporation.

4:15PM Agilent beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; lowers top end of FY13 EPS below consensus, lowers FY13 revs below consensus; co authorized an increase of $500 mln to its existing stock repurchase program; initiated a targeted restructuring prorgram, will reduce headcount by 450 (A) 43.97 +0.93 : Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.77 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.67; revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $1.73 bln vs the $1.74 bln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.60-0.64, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.73 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $1.63-1.66 bln vs. $1.75 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Co issues downside guidance for FY13, lowers top end of EPS to $2.70-2.85 from prior guidance of $2.70-3.00, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; lowers FY13 revs to $6.75-6.85 bln from prior guidance of $6.9-7.1 bln vs. $6.99 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Orders of $1.69 bln were reported in Q2 of 2013.

"We were pleased to have exceeded EPS guidance for the quarter, reflecting our focus on cost control and profitability in the face of the worldwide economic slowdown and the impact of U.S. sequestration. We expect the macroeconomic environment to remain challenging throughout the second half of 2013 and are taking additional actions to strengthen our operating performance."

Stock Repurchase Program: Agilent announced today that its board of directors has authorized an increase of $500 mln to its existing stock repurchase program. Under the increased program, the company is authorized to repurchase up to $1 bln of its common stock, inclusive of amounts repurchased since Nov. 1, 2012. Agilent expects the program to be completed by the end of calendar year 2013.

Targeted Restructuring Program: Agilent also announced today that it has initiated a targeted restructuring program that is expected to reduce Agilent's total headcount by ~450 regular employees, representing ~2 percent of its global workforce. The timing and scope of workforce reductions will vary based on local legal requirements. When completed, the restructuring program is expected to result in an ~$50 mln reduction in annual operating expenses.

12:02PM SMTC Corp announces the appointment of Larry Silber as interin CEO and Clarke Bailey as Executive Chairman, announces departure of co-CEO's Alex Walker and Claude Germain (SMTX) 2.02 -0.06 : Co announces the appointment of Larry Silber as Interim President and CEO and Clarke Bailey as Executive Chairman. By mutual agreement Messrs. Walker and Germain are departing as Officers and Directors of the Company to pursue their Rouge River Capital merchant banking business on a full time basis. Larry Silber joined SMTC's Board as a Director in 2012 and recently served as COO of Hayward Industries, Inc. a privately held equipment manufacturing company with annual revenue in excess of $500 million. Clarke Bailey joined SMTC's Board as a Director in 2011 and has served as the Chairman of its Audit Committee since joining SMTC's Board.

11:59AM DSP Group: Nokomis Capital determines it will support the Starboard slate and return the WHITE proxy card (DSPG) 8.15 +0.08 : Nokomis Capital has determined it will support the Starboard slate and return the WHITE proxy card. Nokomis Capital believes electing the Starboard-nominated directors is in the best long-term interests of shareholders and will be voting all shares under its control accordingly. Nokomis Capital, through the accounts of certain private funds and managed accounts, holds approximately 6.3% of DSP Group, Inc.'s outstanding shares.

8:44AM Altera signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Enpirion; increases previous guidance for 2013 operating expense by $6 mln (ALTR) 32.81 : Altera's previous guidance for 2013 operating expense is increased by $6 million as a result of today's announcement primarily for selling, general and administrative expenses, including one-time acquisition costs. Research and development expense will be substantially consistent with our previous guidance, as unrelated cost savings will offset the additional research and development expense incurred as a result of this acquisition.

QLogic (QLGC) gained share in the Fibre Channel adapter market in the first quarter of calendar year 2013, according to new data from the Dell'Oro Group Q1 2013 SAN Report and the Crehan Research Q1 2013 Quarterly Market Share Report. With a sequential q/q gain of more than four percentage points, QLogic led its nearest competitor by more than 11 percentage points.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) announced that Yahoo Japan (YHOO) has deployed a Juniper Networks QFX3000-M QFabric System at its new environmentally friendly "Shirakawa Data Center"

8:02AM Suntech Power receives NYSE Notice regarding 2012 annual report (STP) 0.63 : The Company is working diligently to complete these assessments and file restated financials for 2010 and 2011, as well as the 2012 Annual Report, as soon as practicable.

7:56AM NVIDIA enters into accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman (NVDA) 14.24 : Co entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman, Sachs & Co. to repurchase a total of $750 million of NVIDIA common stock. NVIDIA will acquire the shares under the ASR Agreement as part of its previously announced intention to return in excess of $1 billion to shareholders in the current fiscal year. Under the ASR Agreement, NVIDIA will pay $750 million and will receive a majority of the shares underlying the ASR Agreement during the second quarter of fiscal year 2014. Any remaining shares to be repurchased under the ASR Agreement, if any, will be based generally on the daily volume-weighted average price of NVIDIA common stock during the term of the ASR Agreement, subject to certain adjustments pursuant to the terms and conditions of the ASR Agreement. At settlement, under certain circumstances, Goldman may be required to deliver additional shares of common stock to NVIDIA, or, under certain circumstances, NVIDIA may be required to deliver shares of its common stock or may elect to make a cash payment to Goldman. Purchases under the ASR Agreement are expected to be completed before the end of October 2013, although the completion date may be accelerated at Goldman's option. The actual number of shares repurchased will be determined at that time.

6:32AM Trina Solar lowers Q1 shipment guidance; sees shipments between 390 MW to 400 MW versus 420 MW to 430 MW prior guidance (TSL) 5.93 :

The Company estimates its solar module shipments in the first quarter of 2013 to be between 390 MW to 400 MW, compared to the Company's previous guidance of 420 MW to 430 MW.
Additionally, for the first quarter of 2013, the Company estimates that overall gross margin to be between 1.0% to 3.0%, in-line with the Company's previous guidance of low single digits in percentage terms.
The Company further expects that its bottom line results in the first quarter of 2013 be impacted by:
An accounts receivables provision reversal of between $10.5 mln to $11.5 mln.
A foreign currency exchange loss between $18.5 mln to $19.5 mln, net of changes in fair value of derivative instruments.
The Company will confirm or revise its previous shipment guidance of between 2.0 to 2.1 GW for the full year 2013 during its first quarter 2013 earnings conference call.

11:32 am Technology Sector trading higher today and behind the broader market
The tech sector is trading higher today, trailing wider gains in the broader market. Semiconductors are showing inline strength as well with the SOX trading 0.4% higher. Within the chip index, CREE (-2.9%) is a notable laggard. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.8% higher today, while the QQQ and the NASDAQ are trading 0.7% higher on the session. Among tech bellwethers, ORCL (+1.4%) is showing notable strength, while INTC (-0.9%) is under pressure.

In tech earnings last night, TTWO (+5.4%) posted a beat and offered inline FY14 guidance. In news, TRMB (-0.8%) announced a CFO departure. This morning, BBRY (-2.9%) unveiled its emerging markets smartphone, the Q5. In rumors, HPQ (+1.1%) says it has not tried to sell Autonomy to SAP (+1.4%), according to reports. In notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space, ELX (+2.3%) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman, FIO (+3.9%) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS and AMAT (+1.3%) was upgraded to Outperform at Pacific Crest. Among downgrades, CREE (-2.8%) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee, AVG (-2.0%) was downgraded to Neutral at Goldman and National Alliance downgraded TTWO (+5.4%) to Accumulate. A (+0.3%) is the only notable name in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close.