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From Briefing.com: Weekly Recap - Week ending 30-Aug-13

Dow -30.64 at 14810.31, Nasdaq -30.43 at 3589.87, S&P -5.20 at 1632.97

The major averages ended August on a lower note as the S&P 500 shed 0.3% while the Nasdaq fell 0.8%. Small caps endured a rough session with the Russell 2000 falling 1.6%.

With the Labor Day weekend ahead and the likelihood of military action in Syria also looming, participation was very limited before quarterly MSCI rebalancing added more than a 100 million shares to the final volume tally as 768 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Equities fell to their lows midway through the session when Secretary of State John Kerry commented on the Syrian situation, implying the U.S. will act alone if necessary. The S&P followed its quick slide to lows with a recovery to its prior levels, where it settled.

Eight of ten sectors ended in the red with influential cyclical groups weighing on the broader market. Financials, technology, industrials, and discretionary shares lost between 0.5% and 0.7% with the discretionary sector leading to the downside.

Nearly all discretionary components posted losses. Home builders settled on their lows as the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (ITB 20.56, -0.40) fell 1.9%. Retailers also slumped as the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 77.88, -0.59) lost 0.8%. Big Lots (BIG 35.42, +0.78) bucked the trend among retailers, climbing 2.3% after reporting a bottom-line beat.

Elsewhere, the industrial sector succumbed to the pressure exerted by transportation companies as the Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 1.1%.

On the upside, consumer staples added 0.3% and the weakest sector of the month, utilities, tacked on a slim gain of less than 0.1%.

While buying interest was somewhat scarce, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 16.95, +0.14) rose 0.8% as participants demanded some downside protection. The near-term volatility measure ended August at its highest level since early July after starting the month near its 2013 lows.

Treasuries spent the session within a narrow range and the benchmark 10-yr yield slipped one basis points to 2.75%.

Reviewing today's economic data, personal income increased 0.1% in July, down from a 0.3% increase in June and exactly what the Briefing.com consensus expected. Employee compensation fell 0.2% as wages and salaries declined by 0.3%. That pullback was in-line with the July employment report, which showed aggregate earnings down 0.3% in July. The drop in compensation was offset by a 0.7% increase in receipts on assets, which was primarily driven by equity gains.

Spending levels were weak. Consumption grew 0.1% in July after increasing an upwardly revised 0.6% (from 0.5%) in June. The consensus expected personal spending to increase 0.3%.

The Chicago PMI increased to 53.0 in August from 51.6 in July. That was exactly what the Briefing.com consensus expected. Production levels weakened slightly as the index fell from 53.6 in July to 53.0 in August. The drop in production, however, was not related to a pullback in orders. New orders increased in August to 57.2, which is the highest level since May. Order backlogs remained in contraction for a third consecutive month, but improved from 42.9 in July to 46.5 in August.

Lastly, consumer sentiment was revised up to 82.1 in the final reading of the August University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index from 80.0 in the preliminary reading. The upward revision still leaves sentiment below the 85.1 reading in July. The Briefing.com consensus expected the Consumer Sentiment Index to remain at 80.0.

Week in Review: Concerns Surrounding Syria Resonate With Markets

On Monday, equities ended on their lows as the S&P 500 shed 0.4% while the Nasdaq settled flat. The major averages held modest gains into the final hour of the session when comments from Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the situation in Syria contributed to broad-based selling. Mr. Kerry said additional information about the recent chemical attack is being compiled and will be made public. The comments raised the expectations for a military operation, a concern participants grappled with throughout the week.

Tuesday saw the major averages settled on their lows after broad-based selling persisted throughout the session. Sellers were in control, reacting to the increased likelihood of U.S. military involvement in Syria. In addition, investors exhibited caution amid news indicating the debt ceiling will be reached in mid-October and that Congress has yet to begin budget negotiations ahead of the new fiscal year, which begins October 1. The S&P 500 fell 1.6% to end below its 100-day moving average for just the second time this year. Small caps endured even more selling as the Russell 2000 lost 2.4%. The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 2.6% as airlines displayed significant weakness. Delta Air Lines (DAL 19.73, +0.09) and United Continental (UAL 28.46, -0.04) tumbled 5.7% and 7.2%, respectively.

Wednesday's session ended with the S&P 500 adding 0.3% to follow the Tuesday slide. Although the benchmark index advanced, it was unable to retake its 100-day moving average. Eight of ten sectors finished in positive territory with energy leading the way. The sector displayed significant strength, climbing 1.8%, after outperforming in the previous session. On a related note, crude oil rose past $109.40 per barrel to push its quarter-to-date gain to almost 12.0% amid increased tensions in the Middle East.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 added 0.2% as eight of ten sectors posted gains. The session kicked off on a lower note, but still managed to finish in positive territory despite an afternoon stumble. Prior to the open, investors received the news that second quarter GDP was revised up to 2.5% from 1.7%. The Briefing.com consensus expected the reading to be revised to 2.1%. Real final sales were revised up to 1.9% from 1.3%. Overall, the upward revision to GDP growth did not suggest that the underlying currents of weak growth are ending. Almost the entire upward revision came from a stronger-than-originally reported trade deficit, which is likely to reverse in the third quarter. That means the increase in GDP pulled potential growth from the third quarter into the second and was not the result of a strengthening economic situation. Following the report, equity futures and Treasuries fell to their lows while the Dollar Index jumped to its high in a reaction consistent with increased tapering expectations. As the session dragged on, stocks displayed intraday strength, but slipped into the close while Treasuries erased their losses. The benchmark 10-yr yield slipped three basis points to 2.75%. For its part, the Dollar Index held its gains throughout the session, ending near 82.00.

 
 Index	   Started Week  Ended Week   Change   %Change  YTD % 
 DJIA	     15010.51	 14810.31    -200.20	-1.3	13.0 
 Nasdaq	      3657.79	  3589.87     -67.92	-1.9	18.9 
 S&P 500	1663.50	  1632.97     -30.53	-1.8	14.5 
 Russell 2000  1038.24	  1010.90     -27.34	-2.6	19.0

4:31PM Micrel expands clock and timing solutions and MEMS capabilities with acquisition of Discera; expected to be slightly dilutive in 2013 and neutral to slightly accretive in 2014 (MCRL) 9.20 -0.38 : Co announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the business of Discera Inc., a leading provider of silicon timing solutions. The acquisition is intended to complement Micrel's high performance clock and timing products, as well as expand its MEMS (micro-electrical mechanical systems) capabilities. The transaction is expected to close in September of 2013. Micrel expects the acquisition will be slightly dilutive in 2013 and neutral to slightly accretive in 2014 on a GAAP basis.

Large Cap Gainers

CRM (49.74 +13.95%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.02 ($0.09 vs $0.07 estimate), revs rose 30.7% yoy to $957 mln vs $938.8 mln; sees Q3 EPS of $0.08-0.09 vs $0.08 estimate, revs of $1.05-1.055 bln vs $1.04 bln estimate; sees FY14 EPS of $0.32-0.34 vs $0.32 estimate, revs of $4.00-4.025 vs $3.99 bln estimate; target raised at JP Morgan, Susquehanna, UBS, JMP Securities, Credit Suisse, Stifel, and Canaccord Genuity
TI (6.98 +9.06%): Upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein
APA (84.4 +7.32%): Co and Sinopec launched a global strategic partnership to pursue joint upstream oil and gas projects; upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets

Large Cap Losers

NOK (3.87 -3.25%): Downgraded to Reduce from Neutral at Swedbank
TM (120.84 -2.46%): South African automotive industry strike continues; Bloomberg reporting that co and Volkswagen may increase their pay offer to union workers to help resolve the strike
SNY (48.17 -1.97%): Reuters reporting that L'Oreal may sell its stake in the company to fund acquisitions

Mid Cap Gainers

SPLK (54.44 +11.28%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.02 (-$0.01 vs -$0.03 estimate), revs rose 50.3% yoy to $66.9 mln vs $63.04 mln estimate; sees Q3 revs of $69-71 mln vs $69.46 mln estimate; sees FY14 revs of $275-281 mln vs $274.85 mln estimate; upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital, target raised to $61 from $48; target raised to $57 from $50 at JP Morgan; target raised to $55 from $50 at Needham
VIPS (43.63 +7.73%): Initiated with an Overweight at JP Morgan
CRI (74.73 +5.25%): Authorized new $400 mln accelerated share repurchase program with JP Morgan

Mid Cap Losers

NTES (71.51 -4.42%): Downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan
STM (7.93 -3.65%): Added to Least Preferred list at Citigroup
YOKU (23.22 -3.09%): Downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

NVIDIA (NVDA) announced it is working with TWX's Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and WB Games Montreal to make Batman: Arkham Origins, the next installment in the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise.

08:59 am OmniVision target lowered to $22 at Needham: . Needham lowers their OVTI tgt to $22 from $25 OVTI delivered an inline F1Q14 (July) quarter on the top line (beat on the bottom line due mainly to a one-time tax benefit), but guided F2Q14 (Oct) below expectations as competitive pricing in the low-end of the smartphone market adversely affected blended ASPs; specifically, China and unfavorable mix shift to HD sensors led to lower than expected revenue. While guidance reflects competitive pricing pressure and perhaps a clearing of excess inventory of low-end China featurephones, we believe the company remains well positioned in the CMOS sensor market given its exposure to multiple multi-year secular trends.

08:39 am ReneSola 14% Higher Pre-Market Following Earnings/Guidance Results
ReneSola (SOL) reported a Q2 loss of $0.24 per share, coming in better than expectations; revenues rose 62.0% year/year to $377.4 mln, also beating expectations. Total solar wafer and module shipments in Q2 2013 were 849.3 megawatts, representing an increase of 28.3% from 662.1 MW in Q1 2013.

The company issued upside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $360-380 mln, which is above expectations.

For Q3, the co expects total solar wafer and module shipments to be in the range of 730 MW to 750 MW, with solar module shipments expected to be in the range of 430 MW to 450 MW. Q3 revenues are expected to be in the range of US$360 million to US$380 million and gross margin is expected to be in the range of 7% to 9%.

For FY13, the co expects total solar wafer and module shipments to be in the range of 2.8 GW to 3.0 GW (up from 2.7-2.9 GW), with solar module shipments expected to be in the range of 1.6 GW to 1.8 GW (up from 1.4-1.6 GW)

In July 2013, the Company's polysilicon production was temporarily impacted by flooding conditions in Sichuan province. Third quarter polysilicon production output is expected to be in the range of 1100 MT to 1300 MT.

Last night after the close, Shanda Games (GAME) reported Q2 (June) earnings of $0.24 per share, $0.04 better than the consensus of $0.20; revenues fell 4.0% year/year to $175.6 million vs the $176.82 million consensus. The company stated that it currently expects its net revenues in the third quarter of 2013 to increase between 3-4% from the second quarter (approx $180-183 million vs. the consensus of $177 million), driven primarily by the successful launch of its mobile game "Million Arthur" in China. Mobile game revenues in the third quarter of 2013 are projected to grow approximately 50% from the second quarter and account for over 10% of total net revenues.

Altera's (ALTR) Board increased its share repurchase authorization by an additional 30 million shares to 41.1 million (or ~13% of the shares outstanding).

In M&A, Vodafone (VOD) confirmed it's in talks with Verizon (VZ) over its VOD's VZ Wireless stake, according to multiple reports.

Methode Electronics (MEI) reported Q1 (July) GAAP earnings of $0.36 per share, $0.16 better than the consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 40.9% year/year to $167.3 million vs the $148.85 million consensus. Consolidated gross margins as a percentage of sales improved to 20.3 percent in the Fiscal 2014 first quarter compared to 18.0 percent in the same period of Fiscal 2013 as a result of increased manufacturing efficiencies related to higher sales and vertical integration in the Automotive segment, as well as favorable raw material commodity pricing and product mix in the Power Products segment, partially offset by increased sales of products with a higher material content in the Interconnect segment. In addition, the company issued upside guidance for FY14, raising EPS to $1.40-1.60 from $1.91-1.11 vs. the $1.06 consensus and raised FY14 revs to $670-700 million from $630-660 million vs. the $653.28 million consensus.