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From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : The S&P 500 registered its first decline in five sessions, losing 0.5%. Small caps faced additional selling pressure as the Russell 2000 fell 1.4%.

Stocks held modest losses into the afternoon, but slid to fresh lows after the Federal Reserve released its latest policy directive, which was little changed from prior statements. Most notably, the directive acknowledged the recent slowdown in the housing sector and noted that fiscal policy is presenting a headwind to growth. In addition, the Committee dropped the reference to "tightening financial conditions" that appeared in the September statement.

While the statement did not throw the market any taper-related curveballs, it may have been perceived to be somewhat hawkish as the Committee did not alter its outlook to account for the impact from the partial government shutdown.

Although stocks slumped in reaction to the release, it should be noted today's weakness occurred after the S&P rallied more than 7.0% over the course of 15 sessions since October 8. Therefore, it is more likely the policy statement served as an excuse for the selling rather than a catalyst.

All ten sectors settled in the red, but their losses were limited to less than 0.8%. Defensive sectors led to the downside, and consumer staples (-0.8%) ended at the bottom of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, utilities (-0.7%) ended among the laggards despite seeing some intraday strength in reaction to above-consensus earnings from Exelon (EXC 28.55, +0.50).

Among cyclical groups, energy (-0.6%) and materials (-0.6%) trailed the S&P while industrials (-0.4%) and technology (-0.2%) outperformed.

Even though the tech sector ended ahead of the broader market, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (-0.6%) lagged as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 207.25, -4.35) lost 2.1%. With just one more session left in October, the biotech ETF is on track to end the month with a loss of 1.0% after gaining more than 50.0% so far this year.

Treasuries ended lower with the 10-yr yield up three basis points at 2.53%.

Trading volume was well below average as only 697 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Looking back at today's economic data, the CPI increased 0.2% in September after ticking up 0.1% in August. The Briefing.com consensus expected headline CPI growth of 0.1%. Energy prices, which fell 0.3% in August, were up 0.8% in September. That was the strongest increase since prices rose 3.4% in June. Food prices were flat in September after increasing 0.1% for the previous two months. Unlike the PPI, there were no large moves in any one sector. Food price movements were generally weak, up or down, across the board.

Excluding food and energy, core CPI increased 0.1% in September for a second consecutive month. That was exactly what the consensus expected.

Separately, according to today's ADP National Employment Report, employment in the nonfarm private business sector rose by 130K in October. This was a bit above the increase of 125K expected by the Briefing.com consensus.

Lastly, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index rose 6.4% to follow last week's decline of 0.6%.

Tomorrow, October Challenger Job Cuts will be released at 7:30 ET and weekly initial claims will be reported at 8:30 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the 9:45 ET release of the Chicago PMI for October.

Russell 2000 +30.2% YTD
Nasdaq +30.2% YTD
S&P 500 +23.6% YTD
DJIA +19.2% YTD

DJ30 -61.59 NASDAQ -21.72 SP500 -8.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 682/1.81 bln/1885 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 886/696.7 mln/2139

3:30 pm :

Dec crude oil extended yesterday's losses following a higher-than-expected climb in stockpiles. The EIA reported that for the week ending Oct 25, crude oil had a build of 4.1 mln barrels when consensus called for a smaller build of 2.3 mln barrels. The energy component touched a session low of $96.59 per barrel moments before settling with a 1.6% loss at $96.72 per barrel
Dec gas chopped around between positive and negative territory, with prices trading in a tight range between $3.61 and $3.65 per MMBtu. It eventually settled 0.3% lower at $3.62 per MMBtu
Dec gold traded higher ahead of the 14:00 ET release of the latest policy directive from the FOMC. A slightly weaker dollar index also boosted prices. The yellow metal advanced to a session high of $1359.60 per ounce in morning action and settled with a 0.3% gain at $1348.90 per ounce. Gold gave up the gain in electronic trade as the Fed left its asset purchase unchanged and is currently trading 0.3% lower at $1342.10 per ounce
Dec silver climbed to a session high of $23.09 in early morning pit trade. Prices held steady near the $23.00 per ounce level for most of the session and settled 2.2% higher at $22.98 per ounce. Silver fell to a low of $22.45 per ounce in electronic trade and is currently 0.7% higher at $22.65 per ounce.

4:40PM Intersil beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line (ISIL) 10.70 -0.18 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.20 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues rose 0.8% year/year to $152.64 mln vs the $149.13 mln consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.16-0.18 vs. $0.16 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $142-148 mln vs. $145.43 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:38PM Microchip beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides DecQ EPS in-line, revs in-line (MCHP) 39.95 -0.35 : Reports Q2 (Sep) non-GAAP earnings of $0.63 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.60; revenues rose 28.5% year/year to $492.7 mln vs the $481.6 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3 (Dec), sees non-GAAP EPS of $0.57-0.63 vs. $0.59 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $463.1-492.7 mln vs. $476.8 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:36PM TTM Tech misses by $0.03, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (TTMI) 9.82 -0.38 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $338.7 mln vs the $346.17 mln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.18-0.24, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $350-370 mln vs. $380.67 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2013 was $42.3 million, or 12.5 percent of net sales, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $39.1 million, or 11.6 percent of net sales, for the second quarter of 2013 and $44.5 million, or 13.1 percent of net sales, for the third quarter of 2012.

"Our third quarter revenue and non-GAAP earnings were within our guidance range for the quarter...We were pleased with the robust sequential increase in sales in our cellular phone and computing end markets which was driven by strong seasonal demand for our advanced technology PCBs used in smartphones and tablets."

4:36PM Emulex beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line (ELX) : Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.13 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.12; revenues fell 3.8% year/year to $114.8 mln vs the $112.08 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.15-0.17 vs. $0.17 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $118-124 mln vs. $120.34 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:36PM AXT beats by $0.01, misses on revs (AXTI) 2.20 -0.03 : Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.07 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.08); revenues fell 13.9% year/year to $20.5 mln vs the $21.2 mln consensus.

4:32PM Skyworks beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (SWKS) 24.48 -0.12 : Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $0.64 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better that the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.62; revenues rose 13.3% year/year to $477 mln vs the $474.72 mln consensus.

Co issues in-line EPS guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.66, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.66 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $500 mln vs. $495.44 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:31PM Western Digital Announces 10.87 mln share secondary offering by selling shareholder Hitachi (WDC) 73.21 +0.47 : The co will not receive any of the proceeds from the offering of the shares (including any shares sold pursuant to the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares). Goldman, Sachs & Co. and BofA Merrill Lynch are acting as lead book-running managers and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as joint book-running manager for the offering.

4:25PM JDS Uniphase beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs below consensus (JDSU) 14.75 -0.43 : Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.12; revenues rose 1.9% year/year to $429 mln vs the $423.19 mln consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $420 to $440 million vs. $456.94 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:22PM Power Integrations beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 revs in-line (POWI) 51.43 -0.67 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.71 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.66; revenues rose 17.5% year/year to $91.72 mln vs the $91.7 mln consensus.

Power Integrations received 24 U.S. patents and 37 non-U.S. patents during the quarter and had a total of 586 U.S. patents and 474 non-U.S. patents as of September 30, 2013.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $86-92 mln vs. $90.70 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co sees Q4 non-GAAP gross margin of ~54.5% and non-GAAP operating expenses of ~$28-28.5 mln.

"Our fourth-quarter revenues are likely to be modestly lower compared to the third quarter due primarily to seasonal trends. Nevertheless, we are on pace for a double-digit revenue increase in 2013, substantially ahead of the growth rate of the overall analog semiconductor industry. We believe we are well positioned for further growth as we continue to increase our penetration across the broader power supply market while aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities in areas like LED lighting, rapid charging and high power."

4:18PM SunPower beats by $0.19, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY13 EPS in-line, revs in-line (SPWR) 31.85 -1.37 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.19 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.25; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $657.12 mln vs the $591.89 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.15-0.35 vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $675-725 mln vs. $722.86 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues guidance for FY13, sees capital expenditures of $45 million to $55 million and GW recognized in the range of 1.0 GW to 1.03 GW.

4:07PM Coherent beats by $0.17, beats on revs (COHR) 65.33 -0.82 : Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $1.03 per share, $0.17 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.86; revenues rose 12.9% year/year to $213.1 mln vs the $207.09 mln consensus.

Bookings received during the fourth fiscal quarter ended Sept 28, 2013 of $200.3 million increased 18.3% from $169.3 million in the same prior year period and increased by 5.9% compared to bookings of $189.2 million in the immediately preceding quarter.

The book-to-bill ratio was 0.94, and ending backlog shipping in the next 12 months was $285.8 million at September 28, 2013, compared to a backlog of $299.2 million at June 29, 2013 and a backlog of $352.8 million at September 29, 2012.

4:05PM Atmel announces $300 mln addition to stock repurchase program (ATML) 6.58 -0.11 : Co announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an additional $300 mln allocation of funds to its existing $700 mln common stock repurchase program.

4:05PM Mellanox Tech executive officers adopt 10b5-1 stock trading plans (MLNX) 35.56 +0.42 : Co announced that Eyal Waldman, president and CEO, and Jacob Shulman, chief financial officer, have each adopted a stock trading plan to sell a portion of their ordinary shares of the company in an orderly manner.

Large Cap Gainers

RRC (77.73 +4.14%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.05 ($0.35 ex items vs $0.30 estimate), revs rose 47.4% yoy to $442 mln vs $431.32 mln estimate; co sees FY13 production growth at high end of +20-25% guidance
GILD (72.33 +4.07%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.04 ($0.52 ex items vs $0.48 estimate), revs rose 14.7% yoy to $2.78 bln vs $2.72 bln estimate; raised FY13 product sales guidance to $10.3-10.4 bln from $10.0-10.2 bln; target raised to $80 from $72 at RBC Capital Markets, to $90 from $85 at BMO Capital Markets; added to Buy list at Deutsche Bank
GM (37.07 +2.80%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.02 ($0.96 ex items vs $0.94 estimate), revs rose 3.7% yoy to $39 bln vs $38.97 bln estimate

Large Cap Losers

WU (16.86 -12.37%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.04 ($0.39 vs $0.35 estimate), revs fell 0.9% yoy to $1.41 bln vs $1.4 bln estimate; sees FY13 EPS of $1.38-1.43 vs $1.44 estimate; downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James; upgraded to Buy from Hold at Standpoint Research
TEVA (38.37 -6.46%): Announced that Dr. Jeremy Levin will step down as President and CEO
LNKD (232.14 -6.07%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.08 ($0.39 ex items vs $0.31 estimate), revs rose 56.0% yoy to $393 mln vs $385.45 mln estimate and $367-373 mln estimate; sees Q4 revs of $415-420 mln vs $439.82 mln estimate; target raised to $280 from $255 at Jefferies, to $270 from $230 at Canaccord Genuity

Mid Cap Gainers

DWA (32.21 +15.78%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.12 ($0.12 vs $0.00 estimate), revs fell 17.1% yoy to $154.5 mln vs $140.3 mln estimate; upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Ascendiant Capital Markets
SEE (30.88 +8.26%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.06 ($0.39 ex items vs $0.33 estimate), revs rose 2.0% yoy to $1.94 bln vs $1.93 bln estimate; sees FY13 EPS of $1.25-1.30 ex items vs $1.20 estimate, revs of ~$7.7 bln vs $7.76 bln estimate
AZPN (37.69 +7.13%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.04 ($0.19 ex items vs $0.15 estimate), revs rose 22.5% yoy to $87.6 mln vs $85.1 mln estimate

Mid Cap Losers

QCOR (59.15 -15.17%): Reported strong Q3 results but noted on conference call that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Los Angeles officer of the SEC are joining the ongoing investigation by U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia regarding co's promotional claims
DLR (49.34 -14.98%): Missed quarterly core FFO by $0.04 ($1.16 ex items vs $1.20 estimate), revs rose 10.8% yoy to $379.46 mln vs $376.14 mln estimate; sees FY13 core FFO of $4.65-4.67 ex items (lowered from $4.74-4.83) vs $4.80 estimate; downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Evercore; downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
PRXL (46.72 -14.82%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.01 ($0.45 vs $0.46 estimate), revs rose 13.8% yoy to $449.2 mln vs $458.53 mln estimate; sees Q2 EPS of $0.46-0.50, revs of $475-480 mln vs $472.89 mln estimate; reaffirmed FY14 guidance

Emulex (ELX) announced the availability of a broad range of I/O connectivity solutions for the new HP ProLiant Gen8 servers, based on the new Intel (INTC) Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 product family. n Vermont is expected to generate ~ 3.1 mln kWh annually.

5:29AM Canadian Solar receives CAD104 mln non-recourse construction loan from Deutsche Bank (CSIQ) 23.95 : Co announces it has signed a financing agreement pursuant to which Deutsche Bank has agreed to provide CAD$104 million in non-recourse, short-term construction financing to Canadian Solar for the construction of solar power projects in Ontario, Canada. The loans are expected to be repaid with the proceeds of the sale of the respective financed projects. The loan facility is intended to support the simultaneous construction of 3 solar power plants, totalling 30 MWac.

Cirrus Logic (CRUS) reported second quarter earnings of $0.84 per share, excluding non-recurring items, which is better than expected, while revenues fell 1.6% year/year to $190.7 million which is higher than expected. The company reported Q2 Gross margin of 52 percent. The company issued in line guidance for the third quarter with revenues of $200-220 million which is in line with expectations. The company said Q3 Gross margin is expected to be between 45 percent and 47 percent. "Q2 was another great quarter for Cirrus Logic as portable audio continued to be a key driver of our success and we made significant progress on our strategic initiatives...We are especially pleased with the addition of Acoustic Technologies to the Cirrus Logic team as they are expected to accelerate our progress toward our vision of being the preferred supplier of signal processing components."