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From Briefing.com: Weekly Recap - Week ending 02-Aug-13

Dow +30.34 at 15658.36, Nasdaq +13.84 at 3689.59, S&P +2.80 at 1709.67

The S&P 500 ended today's session with a modest gain of 0.2% after spending the entire day in a slow climb off its opening lows. The opening slip took place as investors reacted to a weaker-than-expected July jobs report.

Nonfarm payrolls added 162,000 jobs after adding a downwardly revised 188,000 (from 195,000) in June. The Briefing.com consensus expected 175,000 new payrolls. The report proved to be a disappointment as not only did payroll growth come in below expectations, but the average workweek dropped to 34.4 hours from 34.5 and average hourly earnings declined 0.1%. Altogether, aggregate wages fell 0.3%, which will put substantial downside pressure on retail sales growth.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.4% from June's rate of 7.6%. The consensus expected the unemployment rate to fall to 7.5%. However, the labor participation rate fell to 63.4% from June's 63.5%, causing about half of the decline in the unemployment rate.

Although stocks moved lower initially, the S&P erased almost all of its early losses as participants fell back on the Federal Reserve's pledge to provide support to the markets for as long as economic data continues to paint a lukewarm picture.

Treasuries appeared to be in agreement with this assessment as the benchmark 10-yr yield fell 12 basis points to 2.60%, erasing all of yesterday's spike.

The recovery effort in equities was assisted by the relative strength of consumer discretionary, materials, and technology sectors. The three groups gained between 0.5% and 0.7% with the discretionary space in the lead as home builders displayed broad strength. Ryland Group (RYL 41.14, +1.82) was the top performer among major builders while the broader iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 22.71, +0.44) advanced 2.0%.

Elsewhere, the materials sector rose 0.6% as steelmakers rallied. The Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 41.44, +0.24) added 0.6% to extend its climb off late June lows to 13.7%.

Technology shares traded in-line with the broader market at the open, but the sector's daylong climb off lows helped the Nasdaq outperform with a gain of 0.4%. The top sector (and Nasdaq) component, Apple (AAPL 462.54, +5.86), did its part in the rebound, climbing 1.3%. However, chipmakers sat out the tech rally and the PHLX Semiconductor Index dropped 0.7%.

While the S&P 500 managed to erase its opening losses, the index was held back from additional gains by the underperformance of the energy sector, which dropped 0.6% as crude oil slid 1.1% to $106.74 per barrel. On the earnings front, Dow component Chevron (CVX 124.95, -1.49) fell 1.2% after missing on earnings and revenue.

In today's remaining data, June personal income increased 0.3% while the Briefing.com consensus expected income levels to increase 0.5%. Separately, spending increased 0.5% in June against the consensus expectation of a 0.4% increase. The personal income and spending data for June were already incorporated in the Q2 2013 GDP data. None of these data will have any impact on future revisions.

On Monday, the July ISM Services report will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

Week in Review: S&P 500 Overtakes 1,700

On Monday, the S&P 500 settled lower by 0.4% as eight of ten sectors registered losses. Equities began the session in negative territory after the third consecutive decline in Japan's Nikkei contributed to the cautious sentiment. With few earnings of note and no market-moving economic data, the session proved to be relatively quiet as investors prepared for an active week of economic data.

Tuesday's session saw little change in the S&P 500 while the Nasdaq advanced 0.5%. The S&P notched its high at the open before spending the rest of the session in a steady retreat. The selling intensified during afternoon action, sending the S&P into the red as participants displayed caution ahead of Wednesday's advance second quarter GDP report and the latest policy statement from the Federal Reserve. Energy and materials lagged from the open, and they finished behind the remaining cyclical sectors.

The S&P 500 ended Wednesday flat after being unable to clear the 1,700 level, which has presented stern resistance over the past few sessions. Stocks held slim gains into the afternoon when the latest policy directive from the Federal Open Market Committee sent the Nasdaq and S&P to fresh highs. The two indices were unable to maintain those levels into the close as broad-based weakness pressured the major averages to their lows. The FOMC policy statement did not offer many surprises. As expected, the Committee decided to maintain its current policy stance in order to continue supporting the economic recovery. The Committee also said it expects a pick-up in growth from the recent pace, and that inflation below the Fed's 2.0% target could present a risk to economic performance. On a related note, the advance second quarter GDP report surpassed expectations with a reading of 1.7% against a downwardly revised first quarter growth rate of 1.1%. The Briefing.com consensus expected the second quarter reading to come in at 1.1%.

On Thursday, the major averages settled near their highs as better-than-expected Manufacturing PMI data out of China (50.3 actual, 49.9 expected), the eurozone (50.3 actual, 50.1 expected), and the U.S. (53.7 actual, 53.1 expected) helped entice investors into bidding up global equities. The S&P 500 jumped above 1,700, a level the index had struggled with in the past few sessions, and registered a record high close of 1706.81. After jumping above 1,700 shortly after the opening bell, the S&P spent the remainder of the session trading in a seven-point range. Growth-oriented sectors displayed broad strength with financials and industrials pacing the advance.

 
 Index	    Started Week  Ended Week  Change  %Change  YTD % 
 DJIA	     15558.83	  15658.36    99.53	0.6   19.5 
 Nasdaq	      3613.16	   3689.59    76.43	2.1   22.2 
 S&P 500	1691.65	   1709.67    18.02	1.1   19.9 
 Russell 2000  1047.66	   1059.84    12.18	1.2   24.8

This week's top 20 % gainers

Technology: ATVI (18.08 +19.89%), GIB (33.88 +13.65%), SYMC (26.52 +10.1%), CTRX (58.23 +9.19%), FB (38.05 +9.11%)
Services: MW (30.86 +13.5%), LTD (58.4 +8.08%), MPEL (26.19 +8.05%)
Industrial Goods: CNH (48.37 +9.28%), ROK (100.1 +8.52%), FAST (50.24 +8.37%)
Healthcare: ALXN (117.28 +8.97%)
Financial: PFG (44.37 +10.85%), MA (645.57 +7.91%)
Consumer Goods: BUD (98.15 +10.14%), TSLA (138 +9.25%)
Basic Materials: PXD (181.21 +12.53%), CHK (24.95 +10.45%), EMN (82.41 +9.05%), CF (193.34 +8.81%)

Thsi week's top 20 % losers

Technology: VIT (10.19 -5.91%), CCI (69.3 -5.52%)
Services: HTZ (24.99 -7%)
Healthcare: VRTX (79.44 -7.87%)
Financial: BCS (17.46 -11.01%), V (184 -7.93%), HCP (42.81 -6.84%), HDB (33.35 -6.52%), VTR (64.95 -6.41%), ING (7.97 -5.68%), IBN (32 -5.49%)
Consumer Goods: COH (53.33 -10.46%)
Basic Materials: POT (28.91 -21.26%), MOS (40.98 -19.86%), JAG (6.64 -8.29%), TAT (1.25 -6.72%), RDS-B (66.75 -6.07%), TLM (11.19 -5.88%), HDY (3.22 -5.85%), REN (12.82 -5.8%)

1:43PM Dell: Icahn issues statement; says 'we will continue to vigorously pursue our lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery' (DELL) 13.65 +0.69 : Carl C. Icahn issued the following statement regarding Dell: "In every war there are many battles. We are pleased today to have won yet another battle, but the war regarding Dell is far from over. Through its actions today, the Special Committee has finally acknowledged publicly what we have been saying all along - that Michael Dell's offer substantially undervalues the company. Obviously Mr. Dell's previous characterization of his offer as "best and final" was neither. However, we are not satisfied - we believe that an increase of a mere 13 cents is an insult to shareholders. And promising shareholders an additional 8-cent dividend that we were already entitled to, and pretending that it is some sort of gift, is a further slap in the face. We also continue to believe that the Special Committee is improperly putting its thumb on the scales in favor of Mr. Dell's offer by changing the voting rules midstream and by refusing to hold the Special Meeting and the Annual Meeting on the same date and time - the only mechanism that would give shareholders a true choice. As such, we will continue to vigorously pursue our lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery. We believe this lawsuit has now become of paramount importance. It is crucial that the Special Meeting and the Annual Meeting be held on the same date and time and that the same record date be used for both meetings. This is particularly significant due to the large number of shares that are now in the hands of arbitrageurs."

Large Cap Gainers

LNKD (235.91 +10.76%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.07 ($0.38 ex items vs $0.31 estimate), revs rose 59.4% yoy to $363.7 mln vs $354.26 mln estimate; sees Q3 revs of $367-373 mln vs $384.37 mln estimate; sees FY13 revs of $1.455-1.475 bln (raised from $1.43-1.46 bln) vs $1.50 bln estimate; upgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald; target raised at Goldman, Piper Jaffray, among others
MYL (36.46 +7.30%): Upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen; upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; downgraded to Buy from Strong Buy at Needham, target raised to $40 from $34
VIAB (78.7 +5.84%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.01 ($1.29 vs $1.30 estimate), revs rose 13.9% yoy to $3.69 bln vs $3.58 bln estimate

Large Cap Losers

ETN (65.86 -5.82%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.02 ($1.09 vs $1.11 estimate), revs rose 37.7% yoy to $5.6 bln vs $5.77 bln estimate; sees Q3 EPS of $1.05-1.15 ex items vs $1.22 estimate; sees FY13 EPS of $4.05-4.25 ex items (lowered from $4.05-4.45) vs $4.35 estimate
MPC (71.75 -4.45%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.03 ($1.95 vs $1.98 estimate), revs rose 26.9% yoy to $25.7 bln vs $23.12 bln estimate; downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie
WPZ (50.05 -3.97%): Priced offering of 21.5 mln common units representing limited-partner interest at $49 per unit

Mid Cap Gainers

YELP (57.56 +11.77%): Continued strength followin strong Q2 earnings and multiple analyst upgrades and price target raises
TRQ (4.87 +9.19%): Reuters reporting that Rio Tinto does not need to seek Mongolian parliamentary approval to finance the development of an underground mine at the Oyu Tolgoi copper project; Oyu Tolgoi is 66% owned by TRQ
SEE (30.23 +8.42%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.10 ($0.35 ex items vs $0.25 estimate), revs rose 1.9% yoy to 41.96 bln vs $1.97 bln estimate; reaffirmed FY13 EBITDA and EPS guidance toward high end of previously provided ranges

Mid Cap Losers

WTW (38.35 -18.46%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.10 ($1.39 ex items vs $1.09 estimate), revs fell 4.1% yoy to $465.1 mln vs $460.41 mln estimate; sees FY13 EPS of $3.55-3.70 (lowered from $3.60-3.90) vs $3.70 estimate
MRC (23.85 -12.15%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.05 ($0.43 vs $0.38 estimate), revs fell 11.4% yoy to $1.27 bln vs $1.29 bln estimate; sees FY13 EPS of $1.65-1.85 (lowered from $2.10-2.30) vs $1.94 estimate, sees FY13 revs of $5.1-5.3 bln (lowered from $5.75-5.95 bln) vs $5.52 bln estimate; downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
CFN (35.51 -8.83%): Smiths confirmed that it has terminated discussions with CFN regarding a potential agreement for Smiths' Medical devision

9:48AM Market View: Semis a notable laggard in the tech. sector early with SMH now -1% & SOXX now -0.90% as XLNX, BRCM, INTU, MCHP, LLTC, & STX weigh in the NDX 100 (TECHX) :