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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The S&P 500 added 0.4% after intraday weakness pressured the benchmark index below its 100-day moving average. Equities displayed broad strength at the open after global indices rallied yesterday while U.S. markets were closed for Labor Day. The early gains did not hold past the initial two hours as late-morning comments from House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor served as a reminder that the option of military action in Syria remains on the table. Both Speaker Boehner and Mr. Cantor said they support the president's "call to action" with U.S. Congress scheduled to debate the issue next week.

Crude oil climbed off its overnight lows as the remarks from the two Congressional leaders provided an additional boost. The energy component rose 0.8% to $108.55 per barrel while the energy sector added 0.6%.

Elsewhere in the commodity complex, metals outperformed. Gold futures advanced 1.2% and silver futures spiked 3.4% to $1412.30 and $24.31 per troy ounce, respectively. In addition, copper jumped 2.4% to $3.312 per pound. As a result, the materials sector finished among the leaders with a gain of 0.6%.

Outside of the two commodity-linked sectors, financials (+0.8%) and discretionary (+0.8%) shares settled in the lead.

The Dow trailed behind the remaining averages as Microsoft (MSFT 31.88, -1.52) and Verizon (VZ 46.01, -1.37) pressured the price-weighted index. Microsoft fell 4.6% after the company agreed to acquire Nokia's (NOK 5.12, +1.22) Devices & Services business and its patents and mapping services for $5.44 billion. Meanwhile, Verizon lost 2.9% after announcing plans to purchase Vodafone's (VOD 32.01, -0.34) 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion in cash and stock. The underperformance of Verizon weighed on the telecom services space (-1.8%) which settled behind the remaining nine sectors.

Treasuries slid to their lows in reaction to today's better-than-expected economic data, but ended off their worst levels as a safety bid trickled in during afternoon trade. Investors returned to the complex following the hawkish comments on the situation in the Middle East. After climbing above 2.91% early in the session, the benchmark 10-yr ended up 10 basis points at 2.85%.

Today's participation marked an improvement over most August sessions as nearly 800 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

The ISM Index for August improved to 55.7 from 55.4 in July. That was better than expected as the Briefing.com consensus estimate called for a modest decline to 53.4. This is encouraging news insomuch as it relates to the outlook for the manufacturing sector, yet some detail below the headline print indicates manufacturers are no more than cautiously optimistic.

The good news is that the new orders index fueled the improvement in August, rising to 63.2 from 58.3. Notwithstanding that pickup, the employment index decelerated to 53.3 from 54.4. In other words, new business prospects are in the pipeline, yet manufacturers aren't ramping up hiring to fill the new orders.

Construction spending increased 0.6% in July after being flat in June. The July number was pretty much in-line with expectations. The data for June, however, improved from the prior report, which showed a 0.6% decline.

Private construction spending was up 0.9% after declining 0.2% in June. That was paced by a pickup in nonresidential spending, which jumped 1.3% after declining 0.9% in June. Private commercial (+1.7%), manufacturing (+2.9%) and lodging (+6.1%) spending increased in July.

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET and the July trade balance will cross the wires at 8:30 ET. In addition, the Federal Reserve will release its September Beige Book at 14:00 ET.DJ30 +23.65 NASDAQ +22.74 SP500 +6.80 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1644/1.57 bln/892 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1640/787.1 mln/1365
3:35 pm : The commodities space was higher today despite a stronger dollar index. Strength came on continued tension in the Middle East with reports of an Israeli missle test in Syrian airspace. In addition, U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor both said they support the president's "call to action" in Syria.

Oct crude oil rose for the first time in three sessions after coming off its session low of $107.01 per barrel and breaking into positive territory in morning pit action. It trended higher for the remainder of the session and settled at $108.57 per barrel, booking a gain of 0.7%.

Oct natural gas traded higher in a tight range between $3.64 and $3.68 per MMBtu. It eventually settled with a 2.5% gain at $3.67 per MMBtu.

Dec gold rose after three consecutive sessions of losses. It trended higher after lifting off its session low of $1391.40 per ounce set in early morning floor action and settled with a 1.2% gain at $1412.00 per ounce.

Dec silver outperformed the metals sector as it rose as high as $24.52 per ounce. It consolidated near the $24.45 per ounce level in afternoon pit trade and settled with a solid 4.0% gain at $24.43 per ounce.

4:13PM Freescale Semi announces launch of new financing under senior secured credit facilities (FSL) 14.16 -0.16 : Co announced that Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., its wholly owned indirect subsidiary, is seeking commitments for a new senior secured term loan facility under its existing senior secured credit facilities in an aggregate principal amount of up to $300,000,000. The proceeds from the new term loan are intended to be used to redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire all of Freescale's outstanding 10.125% senior secured notes due 2018 and a portion of its 9.25% senior secured notes due 2018, and to pay related redemption premiums and fees. Freescale will pay for a portion of its expenses with cash on hand. The foregoing does not constitute a notice of redemption for any outstanding notes. The purposes of the transaction and the application of the proceeds are to extend a portion of Freescale's debt maturities and reduce interest expense. The new term loan facility would be effected as an amendment to Freescale's existing senior secured credit facilities subject to customary conditions.

1:27PM Floor Talk: August Review (TALKX) : August marked the worst month of the year for the major averages. The Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 all lost between 1.0% and 4.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq held up best (-1.0%) while the Dow led to the downside (-4.4%). Despite posting notable losses, the key indices continue to sport year-to-date gains of no less than 13.0%.

Selling interest hit all ten sectors as every group finished the month in the red for just the first time in 2013. The financial sector (-5.1%) endured the worst month while materials (-0.1%) withstood the bulk of the selling.

The month-long weakness took place in the face of several factors that helped cool the rally effort: tapering concerns, rising long-term rates, increased tensions in the Middle East, uneven economic data, uncertainty about the upcoming budget and debt ceiling debates, uncertainty about who the next Fed chairman will be, and technical resistance. Although buying interest wasn't entirely non-existent, investors displayed less willingness to step in at, or near, record levels to push the markets higher.

Rally Leaders Pace the Slide

When the major averages began the latest leg of their current rally in mid-November, a handful of groups set the tone for the broader market. Namely, small caps (Russell 2000), transports (Dow Jones Transportation Average), home builders (ITB), and blue chips (Dow Jones) all registered solid gains, pacing an advance that culminated in record highs for the Dow, S&P 500, and Russell 2000.

In August, the aforementioned groups saw some of their momentum fade. The Dow and Russell 2000 underperformed the remaining indices while the Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 3.3% and the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB) tumbled 7.7%.

Overall, though, the August decline weighed the heaviest on countercyclical sectors. The health care, consumer staples, telecom services, and utilities sectors all lost between 3.5% and 5.0%. Cyclical sectors were a bit more mixed as energy (-1.0%), technology (-1.0%), and materials (-0.1%) outperformed the broader market.

Taper Talk Persists

The narrative throughout the month included attempts to handicap the likelihood that the Federal Reserve may lower the pace of its asset purchases as early as mid-September. Unfortunately, the somewhat mixed economic data received during August did not significantly skew the expectations one way or another.

Notably, second quarter GDP growth was revised to 2.5% from 1.7%, but the upward revision did not suggest that the underlying currents of weak growth are ending. Almost the entire revision came from a stronger-than-originally reported trade deficit. Briefing.com believes the increase in GDP pulled potential growth from the third quarter into the second and was not the result of a strengthening economic situation. We expect the improvement in the trade balance to reverse in the third quarter.

Treasuries Continue Slipping

When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke first suggested the Fed may begin looking at modifying the pace of its asset purchases, 10-yr Treasury yields began climbing from their May lows of 1.61%. That climb continued through August as yields rose for the fourth month in a row.

Continued taper talk, as well as festering uncertainty about an impending leadership change at the Fed, pressured the bond market throughout the month. Treasuries were on the receiving end of some safe-haven flows during the final week, however, as concerns regarding the situation in Syria contributed to a safety bid. The benchmark 10-yr yield ended the month at 2.75% after climbing as high as 2.92%.

Ships Surrounding Syria Send Shockwaves

On August 26, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria and said the Assad regime must be held accountable for its violation of an international ban on the use of chemical weapons. Mr. Kerry's comments were followed by similar remarks from President Obama who said the use of such weapons cannot go unanswered. The statements were perceived as setting the stage for military action in Syria.

In response to this new source of uncertainty, and fears a strike in Syria could trigger a broader regional conflict, equity markets retreated while Treasuries and the dollar advanced.

Elevated Volatility Meets Subdued Volume

Volatility was on the rise throughout August as the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) advanced from 11.83% to 17.01%, a level not seen since July 3. The VIX climbed steadily as general weakness in equities coupled with an uncertain geopolitical outlook sent investors in search of downside protection.

Although the weakness in August was notable, below-average volume observed throughout the month may have exacerbated the magnitude of some of the moves. Going into August, the 20-day average NYSE volume was just under 677 million shares. As a result of 16 low-volume sessions, 20-day volume at the end of August had slumped to 638 million.

Technically Speaking

In addition to a fair share of concerns, the major averages had to contend with several technical levels throughout the month. On August 2, the S&P 500 marked its all-time nominal high at 1,709.67 before slipping to its 20-day moving average (1,690/1,691) three sessions later. The index held that level for about a week until further weakness sent the S&P to its 50-day average (1,657/1,658). Unable to rebound off that key level, the benchmark index slid below its 100-day average (1,637/1,638) for just the second time this year, where it settled for the month.

Uncertainty on the Horizon

Throughout August it appeared as if the market was keeping one eye on September knowing the number of potential risk events that may come into play. Those events are highlighted and discussed in Briefing.com's The Big Picture column from August 29. During September, investors will contend with:

The August jobs report that could factor into the Fed's tapering decision.
The September 17/18 FOMC meeting where a tapering decision could be announced.
The German election on September 22.
The need to reach a budget agreement by October 1 and the debate on raising the debt ceiling, which will be reached in mid-October.
The potential nomination of a new Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Click here to see a breakdown of monthly index and sector ETF performance

Large Cap Gainers

NOK (5.04 +29.23%): Microsoft (MSFT) to acquire Nokia's Devices & Services business, license Nokia's patents and mapping services for EUR5.44 bln, Risto Siilasmaa will assume an interim CEO role for Nokia; upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank; upgraded to Mkt Perform from Underperform at Bernstein; upgraded to Perform at Oppenheimer; upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Robert W. Baird; tgt raised to $6 from $3.
TU (33.03 +7.34%): Upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts; upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at BMO Capital Markets.
RCI (42.52 +7.37%): Upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at National Bank; heard positive comments at BofA/Merrill following VZ comments related to Canadian entry.

Large Cap Losers

MUR (58.99 -12.5%): Completed the spin-off of its U.S. retail marketing business into an independent public co called Murphy USA (MUSA); upgraded to Sector Outperform at Howard Weil; tgt raised to $76.
HDB (27.4 -5.45%): Weakness in India related names with Sensex down (weakness attributed to potential S&P downgrade); INFY, IBN also lower.
SJR (23.16 -3.86%): Downgraded to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

Mid Cap Gainers

ALU (2.83 +9.69%): Trading higher on NOK deal with MSFT.
EBR (2.26 +6.6%): Brazil names higher after Bovespa jumped 3.7% yesterday; OIBR, SID also higher.
JAH (45.77 +6.57%): Co to acquire Yankee Candle For $1.75 bln - expected to be accretive to Jarden's adj. EPS by ~10%, pre synergies.

Mid Cap Losers

HLF (58.75 -3.7%): Weakness attributed to a WSJ story in which a New Jersey professor (noted for ponzi scheme research) stated there was not enough information released by HLF to determine whether or not it was a ponzi scheme.
MNST (55.17 -3.87%): Heard chatter that Einhorn is short MNST (rumor has been around since January).
SCTY (30.47 -2.78%): Barrons article out cautious on Solar City.

11:51AM Floor Talk (TALKX) : Over the weekend, the tone was set for a positive start for the stock market. President Obama announced he was going to put the decision to strike Syria to a Congressional vote and manufacturing surveys out of China and the eurozone were generally deemed to have offered encouraging signals for a global economic recovery.

Not surprisingly, the major averages started today's session on a strong note, bolstered further by typical first-of-the-month inflows and an encouraging ISM Index for August. The early tide of enthusiasm has waned, however, primarily because the market has been reminded that a strike against Syria hasn't necessarily been canceled, but most likely only deferred.

Selling activity has picked up in the past 30 minutes following headlines that Speaker of the House Boehner has indicated that he supports the president's call to action on Syria. House Majority Leader Cantor has also said the same. Congress is going to start debating the matter on September 9 following its return from recess.

The inference that the president will have the Congressional support to strike Syria once again exposes the risk of a strike leading to a broader regional conflict which, in turn, has cooled off today's rally effort.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up 123 points at its high today, is now up less than 20 points. The S&P 500, which was up 19 points at its high today, is now up less than eight points. Crude prices have reversed from an earlier bout of weakness and are now up $0.36 at $108.01/bbl and gold prices have extended earlier gains and are now up $10.10 at $1406.20/troy ounce.

Strikingly, though, there has not been any reversal in the Treasury market, which remains pinned on its lows for the day. The 10-yr note is down 29 ticks and its yield has risen to 2.90%. The weak price action in the Treasury market suggests either it fears a Fed tapering strike more than a strike against Syria or that traders there don't think a strike against Syria will lead to a broader conflict.

Pretty much everything in the stock market has backed off earlier highs. Today's volatility is a reminder that uncertainty continues to run high as the month of September begins and important decisions hang in the balance, with Syria just one of them.

Verizon (VZ 45.35, -2.03) is -4.3% after the company agreed to acquire Vodafone's (VOD 32.02, -0.33) 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion in cash and stock.

2:01AM ARM Holdings acquires Advanced Display Technology from Cadence (CDNS) (ARMH) 40.53 : ARM (ARMH) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) announce that the companies have signed a definitive agreement for the sale and transfer of Cadence PANTA display controller cores to ARM. The agreement enhances the companies' long-standing ecosystem collaboration and strengthens their technical alignment.

Cadence's PANTA family of high-resolution display processor and scaling coprocessor IP cores was co-developed in conjunction with ARM and is targeted at advanced multimedia applications for high-end mobile devices with ultra-low power consumption.

1:38AM Suntech Power provides update on restructuring process (STP) 1.03 : Co announces that following productive discussions with its key stakeholders earlier this week in China, an understanding has been reached with its Creditor Working Group led by Clearwater Capital Partners and Spinnaker Capital Limited for restructuring the Company.

The Company intends to immediately commence preparations for implementing a recapitalization plan that contemplates a scheme of arrangement as part of a holistic restructuring of the Suntech Group. The principal components of the restructuring scheme would include:

identifying the key assets to be retained by the Company to allow it to continue its operations at a rationalized scale
the exchange of outstanding debt into the Company's equity
the setting of maximum debt levels for the Company's operating subsidiaries
the introduction of a new strategic investor that will provide the necessary funding through the purchase of newly issued equity to complete the restructuring process.

This will permit the Company to substantially improve its balance sheet and to be well positioned to continue as a major worldwide supplier in the solar industry.

The Company anticipates entering into a restructuring framework agreement in the next week or so to document the understanding that will allow the Company adequate time to execute the restructuring so long as it progresses the recapitalization plan and complies with the other terms in the restructuring framework agreement.

1:31AM Nokia: Microsoft (MSFT) to acquire Nokia's Devices & Services business, license Nokia's patents and mapping services for EUR5.44 bln, Risto Siilasmaa will assume an interim CEO role for Nokia (NOK) 3.90 : Microsoft and Nokia announce that the boards of directors for both companies have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially all of Nokia's Devices & Services business, license Nokia's patents, and license and use Nokia's mapping services. This transaction is expected to be significantly accretive to Nokia earnings.

Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia's Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia's patents, for a total transaction cost of EUR 5.44 billion in cash. Microsoft will draw upon its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia's shareholders, regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

Nokia will retain its patent portfolio and will grant Microsoft a 10-year non-exclusive license to its patents at the time of the closing. Microsoft will grant Nokia reciprocal rights to use Microsoft patents in its HERE services. In addition, Nokia will grant Microsoft an option to extend this mutual patent agreement in perpetuity.In addition, Microsoft will become a strategic licensee of the HERE platform, and will separately pay Nokia for a four-year license. Microsoft will also immediately make available to Nokia EUR 1.5 billion of financing in the form of three EUR 500 million tranches of convertible notes that Microsoft would fund from overseas resources. If Nokia decides to draw down on this financing option, Nokia would pay back these notes to Microsoft from the proceeds of the deal upon closing. The financing is not conditional on the transaction closing.

NOKIA LEADERSHIP CHANGES
Nokia expects that Stephen Elop, Jo Harlow, Juha Putkiranta, Timo Toikkanen, and Chris Weber would transfer to Microsoft at the anticipated closing of the transaction.

Risto Siilasmaa will assume an interim CEO role for Nokia while continuing to serve in his role as Chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors. As part of his interim CEO role, Mr. Siilasmaa will, among other tasks, oversee strategy and have four direct reports: Michael Halbherr, Executive Vice President, HERE; Stephen Elop, Executive Vice President, Devices & Services; Timo Ihamuotila, Nokia CFO and interim President; and Jesper Ovesen, Executive Chairman of the NSN Board of Directors.

ReneSola (SOL) reported Q2 results that were better than anticipated, beating on the bottom line by $0.08, reporting a loss of $0.24 per share, $0.08 better than the consensus of $0.32; revenues rose 62.0% y/y to $377.4 million vs the $367.3 millionconsensus. 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. In addition, the company issued upside guidance for Q3, seeing revenues of $360-$380 million versus consensus on $356.8 million.

Nuance Communications (NUAN) shares are rising after Carl Icahn converted his ownership of Nuance from a passive 13G filing to an active 13D filing with the SEC. Given the fundamental weakness at Nuance over the past few quarters FBR Capital believes Icahn officially moving to an "active" stake has many potential scenarios for Nuance, including board representation, the removal of the current CEO, a potential split up/divestiture of Nuance's businesses, and the ultimate sale of the company further down the road. The firm noted the company implemented a shareholder rights plan ("poison pill") last week which is activated when a given shareholder acquires over 20% of the co without board approval. Over the last few months the Icahn ownership has put a "floor" on Nuance shares; the firm reiterates its Market Perform rating.

PC-TEL (PCTI) announced that TelExpress agreed to the entry of a Consent Permanent Injunction that, among other things, prohibits TelExpress from using confidential and proprietary PCTEL information made available to them earlier this year by a former PCTEL employee hired by TelExpress. The former employee also agreed to the entry of a Consent Permanent Injunction following his separation from TelExpress. The entry of these orders and other consideration resolves the litigation initiated by PCTEL in April, 2013. The company will not hesitate to take aggressive action when necessary to protect its confidential and proprietary business information.