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From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : The major averages kicked off the new trading week with modest gains as the S&P 500 added 0.4%. The Russell 2000 (+1.1%) outperformed, but its relative strength came after the small cap index struggled to keep pace with the last week's advance in the broader market.

Outside of the notable outperformance among small caps, today's session unfolded in an uneventful fashion. Overseas markets did little to upset the state of affairs as Japan's Nikkei was closed for Culture Day while China's Shanghai Composite ended flat despite its Non-Manufacturing PMI rising to a 14-month high of 56.3 from 55.4.

All ten sectors ended in the green, but only energy (+1.3%) and telecom services (+0.8%) posted gains in excess of 0.4%. Energy was responsible for pacing much of the advance as the sector rallied throughout the session. Meanwhile, crude oil ended little changed at $94.59 per barrel.

The other commodity-linked sector, materials (+0.4%), displayed relative strength as steelmakers rallied in reaction to a Goldman Sachs upgrade of AK Steel (AKS 5.00, +0.40) and U.S. Steel (X 26.91, +1.13). The broader Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 49.68, +1.18) ended higher by 2.4%.

Elsewhere, industrials (+0.3%) settled essentially in-line with the broader market, but the underperformance of top sector components like Boeing (BA 132.79, -0.24) and General Electric (GE 26.43, -0.11) overshadowed the strength of transports. The Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 1.2% as 19 of 20 components registered gains. Norfolk Southern (NSC 86.84, -0.16) was the lone decliner, shedding 0.2%.

Although the S&P was able to finish at its session high, it did so without the participation of financials as the sector ended near its flat line.

Three of four countercyclical groups (consumer staples, health care, and utilities) trailed the broader market with staples lagging even after Kellogg (K 62.72, +0.43) reported a bottom-line beat on in-line revenue. In addition, the company announced plans to cut 7.0% of its workforce to reflect a challenging environment.

Treasuries held modest gains throughout the session as the 10-yr yield shed two basis points to 2.60%.

Trading volume was well below average as less than 600 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Due to the partial government shutdown, the Census Bureau released the factory orders reports for August and September at the same time. Orders increased 1.7% in September after declining 0.1% in August. July factory orders were revised down from -2.4% to -2.8%. The Briefing.com consensus expected factory orders to increase 1.8% in September and 0.3% in August.

The recent volatility in factory orders was a result of significant, up-and-down monthly moves in aircraft orders. Nondefense aircraft orders increased 57.7% in September after a 5.4% increase in August and a 58.9% decrease in July.

Tomorrow, the October ISM Services report will be released at 10:00 ET.DJ30 +23.57 NASDAQ +14.55 SP500 +6.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1674/1.74 bln/859 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2013/599.7 mln/964

3:30 pm :

Dec crude oil brushed a session high of $95.11 per barrel in morning pit trade and later dipped into the red and to a session low of $94.43 per barrel. It eventually settled at $94.59 per barrel, or 2 cents below the unchanged line
Dec natural gas traded in the red today, falling as low as $3.41 per MMBtu. It settled at its session high of $3.45 per MMBtu, booking a loss of 1.7%.
Dec gold traded in the black as the dollar index chopped around in negative territory.The yellow metal rose to a session high of $1320.80 per oujce in morning floor trade but lost steam heading into the close. It erased most of the earlier gains and settled just 0.1% higher at $1314.70 per ounce.
Dec silver chopped around slightly below the unchanged line for most of the session. It pulled-back in late afternoon pit action to a session low of $21.69 per ounce and settled with a 0.7% loss at $21.70 per ounce.

4:47PM Rudolph Tech announces ruling has been issued in co's patent infringement case brought by ITC; judgement reverses at least $23.4 mln in damages (RTEC) 10.85 +0.35 : Co announced that the United States Federal Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Rudolph's ongoing patent infringement dispute with Integrated Technology of Tempe, Arizona ("ITC"). The U.S. Federal Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Rudolph by reversing the finding of liability against Rudolph for the post-August 2007 infringement of its ProbeWoRx and PRVX systems of ITC's US Patent No. 6,118,894 under the Doctrine of Equivalents, a legal principle which expands the language of patent claims to encompass products or processes which may otherwise be found not to literally infringe a patent. In addition, the Court reversed the finding of willful infringement against Rudolph in this matter, thus vacating the award of enhanced damages. Furthermore, the Appeals Court vacated the District Court's award of attorney's fees against Rudolph and remanded this issue for further hearing. Finally, the Appeals Court affirmed the award of damages assessed during the original trial for the literal infringement of the '894 patent by products sold prior to August of 2007. This lawsuit was initially brought by ITC in 2006 against Applied Precision, LLC prior to Rudolph's acquisition of Applied's probe card test and analysis business in December of 2007.

4:27PM Rudolph Tech beats by $0.01, misses on revs (RTEC) : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.06 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.05; revenues fell 29.3% year/year to $44.0 mln vs the $46.49 mln consensus.

"We are pleased to see the recent strengthening of orders for our front-end metrology solutions for 3D FinFET NAND flash memory technology at 20, 16 and 14 nanometer nodes. We believe this signals a restart of our industry's front-end growth trajectory and gives us increased confidence for 2014 after the pause experienced in the last couple of quarters...

4:29PM GT Advanced Tech. reports Q3 (Sep) results; announces agreement with AAPL that impacts 2H13 and 2014 Outlooks (GTAT) 8.38 +0.30 : Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.16 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.02); revenues fell 63.4% year/year to $40.3 mln vs the $93.25 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY13, sees EPS of ($0.50)- ($0.40), may not be comparable to $0.30 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY13 revs of $29-320 mln, may not be comparable to $525.47 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues guidance for FY14, sees FY14 revs of $600-800 mln, may not be comparable to $579.29 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

AAPL Agreement

On October 31, 2013, GTAT and Apple (AAPL) entered into a Master Development and Supply Agreement and related Statement of Work, pursuant to which GTAT will supply sapphire material exclusively to Apple for consumer electronics. GTAT has granted Apple certain intellectual property rights in connection with its sapphire growth technologies. Although the agreement does not guarantee volumes, it does require GT to maintain a minimum level of capacity. GT will be subject to certain exclusivity terms during the duration of the agreement. GT expects this arrangement to be cash positive and accretive to earnings starting in 2014. Gross margins from this new materials business are expected to be substantially lower than GT's historical equipment margins.
GTAT also entered into a Prepayment Agreement with Apple pursuant to which GTAT will receive approximately $578 million in four separate installments, as payment in advance for the purchase of sapphire goods. GTAT is required to repay this amount ratably over a five year period ending in January 2020, either as a credit against Apple's purchases of sapphire goods under the MDSA or as a direct cash payment. GTAT's obligations under the Prepayment Agreement are secured by certain of its assets. While the MDSA specifies GTAT's minimum and maximum supply commitments, there are no minimum purchase requirements under the terms of the MDSA.
Finally, on October 31, 2013, GTAT entered into a lease agreement with an affiliate of Apple in order to lease a facility in Mesa, Arizona that GTAT will use for the purpose of manufacturing the sapphire goods under the MDSA.

Impact on 2H13 results

To service the sapphire material agreement announced today, the company has dedicated the vast majority of its ASF capacity in the second half of 2013 to expanding its own materials capacity. This shift in business model has effectively precluded the company from shipping significant levels of ASF units to other customers during the second half of 2013 and will continue to do so for the balance of the year.
Given the impact of its shift from ASF equipment sales to building ASF capacity for its own internal use as the company prepares to service the Apple agreement, GT is revising guidance for fiscal year 2013, which ends December 31, 2013, as follows: Revenue in the range of $290 million to $320 million Gross margin in the range of 30% to 32% Non-GAAP EPS in the range of a loss of $0.40 to a loss of $0.50; GTAT sees 2014 revenues in the range of $600-800 mln.

On October 30, 2013, GTAT terminated its credit agreement with Bank of America and the other lenders from time to time party thereto. As of October 30, 2013, there was approximately $96 million outstanding under the term loan component of the Credit Agreement, which amount was paid in full on October 30, 2013 by the Company using its available cash.

4:05PM Advanced Energy beats by $0.16, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (AEIS) 20.65 +0.26 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.37; revenues rose 21.6% year/year to $142.9 mln vs the $146.61 mln consensus.

Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.59-0.63, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.39 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $145-155 mln vs. $150.48 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Large Cap Gainers

IEP (107.23 +5.02%): Reported Q3 net income of $4.10 per limited partner unit (vs $1.61 single analyst estimate), revs $5.7 bln vs $4.7 bln single analyst estimate
SYY (34.01 +4.44%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.02 ($0.49 ex items vs $0.47 estimate), revs rose 5.7% yoy to $11.71 bln vs $11.62 bln estimate; gross margin was 17.63%
NEM (26.88 +3.46%): Upgraded to Hold from Sell at Mackie Research

Large Cap Losers

RYAAY (43.16 -14.26%): Reported 1H14 profit of EUR 602 mln vs EUR 606.7 mln estimate, revs rose 5% yoy to EUR 3.26 bln vs EUR 3.29 bln estimate; traffic rose 2%, sees FY14 traffic +2%; reduced full year profit guidance from EUR 570 mln to EUR 510 mln
CS (28.6 -7.29%): Credit Suisse and UBS trading lower following Reuters report that Swiss politicians are considering stricter capital requirements
RBS (10.55 -2.76%): The Telegraph reporting that co is in advanced discussions regarding the cancellation of the bank's "B" shares

Mid Cap Gainers

SCTY (62.49 +14.14%): Co's subsidiary, SolarCity LMC Series I, intends to offer in a private placement $54.425 mln aggregate principal amount of Solar Asset Backed Notes, Series 2013-1 with a scheduled maturity date of Dec 2026; mentioned positively in blog article
VMC (59.49 +10.85%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.06 ($0.32 ex items vs $0.26 estimate), revs rose 11.6% yoy to $813.56 mln vs $782.24 mln estimate
SPWR (34.02 +10.2%): Acquired Greenbiotics, a California-based company that offers panel cleaning products and services for large-scale solar power plants

Mid Cap Losers

BBRY (6.7 -13.77%): Co's go-private agreement failed; received investment of $1 bln from Fairfas Financial and other institutional investors; co plans to replace CEO
KT (16.17 -2.82%): Hearing downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse
CLMT (28.96 -2.56%): Downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets, target lowered to $31 from $36

11:59AM European Markets Closing Prices (SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

UK's FTSE: + 0.4%
Germany's DAX: + 0.3%
France's CAC: + 0.4%
Spain's IBEX: + 0.4%
Portugal's PSI: + 1.1%
Italy's MIB Index: + 0.8%
Irish Ovrl Index: -0.6%
Greece ATHEX Composite: -1.3%

8:01AM SunPower confirms acquisition of Greenbotics; acquisition is a cash transaction that is accretive to co's results (SPWR) 30.87 : Co announces it has acquired Greenbotics, a Calif-based company that offers panel cleaning products and services for large-scale solar power plants. With this strategic acquisition, SunPower expands its energy services portfolio for global customers with the SunPower Oasis Power Plant product, especially in markets with challenging dirt and dust environments. SunPower expects to utilize the robotic technology and the Greenbotics team in conjunction with other product development and large-scale solar field installation projects.

Nokia (NOK) announced that Samsung (SSNLF) has extended a patent license agreement between Nokia and Samsung for five years. The agreement would have expired at the end of 2013. According to the agreement, Samsung will pay additional compensation to Nokia for the period commencing from January 1, 2014 onwards, and the amount of such compensation shall be finally settled in a binding arbitration which is expected to be concluded during 2015.

6:14AM SolarCity subsidiary, SolarCity LMC Series I, intends to offer in a private placement $54.425 mln aggregate principal amount of Solar Asset Backed Notes, Series 2013-1 with a scheduled maturity date of Dec 2026 (SCTY) 54.75 : Co announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, SolarCity LMC Series I, intends to offer in a private placement $54,425,000 aggregate principal amount of Solar Asset Backed Notes, Series 2013-1 with a scheduled maturity date of Dec 2026. These notes will be secured by a pool of photovoltaic systems and related leases and power purchase agreements and ancillary rights and agreements that will be owned by SolarCity LMC Series I. These notes will represent obligations solely of SolarCity LMC Series I, and will not be insured or guaranteed by SolarCity or any other affiliate thereof, or by any other person or entity.

1:47AM UTStarcom announces withdrawal of non-binding Going Private proposal (UTSI) 2.83 : Co announces that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors has received a notice from one of the directors of the Company, Hong Liang Lu, and entities affiliated with him, and Shah Capital Opportunity Fund LP and Himanshu H. Shah that they have unanimously determined to withdraw the non-binding going private proposal dated March 27, 2013.

07:46 am Canadian Solar shares spike 5% following raised shipment guidance
Canadian Solar (CSIQ $27.01 +1.45) announced it expects solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately 460-480 MW, which exceeds the Company's original guidance of 410-430 MW provided on August 8, 2013. The Company expects its revenue for the third quarter of 2013 to be in the range of $470-495 million. The Company now expects its gross margin to be in the range of 18-20% compared to its original guidance of 10-12%. The Company's gross margin for the third quarter of 2013 is expected to exceed its original guidance primarily due to the successful execution of its total solutions business strategy including the completion and sales of solar power plants as previously disclosed. For the three-month period as well as for the nine-month period ended on September 30, 2013 the Company expects to be profitable at the net-income level on a US-GAAP basis.

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) announced the launch of a capital increase for an amount of EUR955 mln, its intent to launch a high yield bonds offering in an aggregate principal amount of $750 mln and the execution of a commitment letter for the implementation of a new syndicated revolving credit facility of EUR500 mln. The Capital Increase will be conducted by way of issuance of preferential subscription rights to holders of the co's existing ordinary shares. Holders of Existing Ordinary Shares will receive one Right for every Existing Ordinary Shares held on the record date of Nov 18, 2013. The subscription price for the new ordinary shares will be EUR2.10 per share on the basis of 8 New Ordinary Shares for 41 Existing Ordinary Shares, resulting in the issuance of between 454,722,512 and 460,000,000 New Ordinary Shares. The Rights will be issued and detached from the Existing Ordinary Shares, and the subscription period will start, on Nov 19, 2013, and will end on Nov 29, 2013. Rights remaining unexercised at the end of the subscription period will expire. Based on this subscription price, the gross proceeds of the Capital Increase are expected to be ~ EUR955 mln. The purpose of the Capital Increase is to strengthen the equity of the company.

Extreme Networks (EXTR) reported first quarter earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, which is better than expected, while revenues fell 0.3% year/year to $75.9 million which is higher than consensus. The company issued guidance for the second quarter with EPS of $0.14-0.16 and GAAP revenues of $140-155 million. Guidance Details: Financial targets for the second fiscal quarter reflect the acquisition of Enterasys Networks on October 31, 2013, and will include Enterasys results for the months of November and December. For its second quarter of fiscal 2014 ending December 31, 2013, the company is targeting GAAP revenue in a range of $140 million to $155 million with non-GAAP revenue in a range of $145 million to $160 million. GAAP gross margin is targeted in a range of 47% to 48% and non-GAAP gross margin targeted to be 54% to 56%. "We are pleased with these results in light of product shortages that persisted for most of the quarter, seasonally slow July and August demand, and the announcement of our acquisition of Enterasys in mid-September. We extended our position in the sports venue market with wins at the Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field and the NBA's Carolina Bobcats, at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The Company added alliances with Aviat Networks, who will use Extreme switches and routers in their microwave networking solutions, and Silicon Graphics Corp. who will deploy Extreme switches in their high performance data center solutions, particularly for cloud and big data applications.