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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The major averages ended on their lows after opening gains turned into broad-based losses. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% while the Nasdaq underperformed with a decline of 1.9%.

Prior to the open, the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.25% after recent data suggested the price level is moving away from the ECB's inflation target. The rate cut fueled a surge in the dollar while also sparking a risk bid. However, the equity gains were capped after a better-than-expected headline Q3 GDP reading (2.8% versus 2.5% Briefing.com consensus) fostered renewed speculation about a potential tapering announcement coming sooner rather than later.

The immediate reaction in Treasuries also reflected a 'taper on' trade as bonds sold off, sending the 10-yr yield from its low to a session high. However, Treasuries returned to their best levels of the day as weakness among equities redirected some flows into safe-haven assets. The 10-yr yield ended lower by four basis points at 2.61%.

The Nasdaq paced today's decline as momentum names saw a continuation of yesterday's weakness. Facebook (FB 47.56, -1.56), LinkedIn (LNKD 211.47, -9.31), Priceline.com (PCLN 1022.89, -35.15), Tesla (TSLA 139.77, -11.39), and Yelp (YELP 61.83, -4.78), lost between 3.2% and 7.5% with Tesla seeing added pressure in reaction to reports of another car fire after the vehicle hit some debris on the road. The index was also pressured by Qualcomm (QCOM 67.09, -2.65) after the company reported disappointing results combined with cautious guidance.

Even though the tech-heavy Nasdaq lagged, the traditional technology sector (-1.2%) ended ahead of the S&P along with two other top-weighted sectors-financials (-1.1%) and health care (-0.9%).

Although equities registered broad losses, a pocket of strength could be found in the shares of Twitter (TWTR 44.90, +18.90), which began trading as a public company at $45.10 per share after pricing the IPO at $26. The social media stock ended the session below its opening price, but 72.7% above its IPO price.

With stocks ending on their lows, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 13.90, +1.23) finished near its high.

Today's selling invited above-average participation as more than 900 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Taking another look at today's data, GDP increased 2.8% in the third quarter. That is up from a 2.5% increase in Q2 2013 and matches the best gain since Q3 2012. The Briefing.com consensus expected GDP to increase 1.9%. Final sales were up 2.0%, down slightly from a 2.1% increase in the second quarter.

Overall, the economy performed in the third quarter in a similar fashion to how it performed in the second quarter. Inventories contributed slightly more to growth (0.8 percentage points vs. 0.4 percentage points), which was the main difference between the two quarters. Inventories have now increased for three consecutive quarters and are due for a normal pullback soon. That could leave headline GDP growth coming in weaker in the coming quarters.

Separately, the weekly initial claims level declined to 336,000 from an upwardly revised 345,000 (from 340,000). The Briefing.com consensus expected the initial claims level to fall to 335,000. The Department of Labor stated that there were no unusual factors in the initial claims data. After two months of biases from computer glitches and the government shutdown, the initial claims report is giving a clean reading of the labor situation.

Unfortunately, the claims level is almost exactly where it was prior to the problems in the claims data. Layoff levels have remained steady and the private sector is very comfortable with its current labor needs.

Tomorrow, October non-farm payrolls, September personal income, personal spending, and core PCE prices will all be reported at 8:30 ET while the preliminary reading of the November Michigan Sentiment Survey will be released at 9:55 ET.

Nasdaq +27.8% YTD
Russell 2000 +27.1% YTD
S&P 500 +22.5% YTD
DJIA +19.0% YTD

DJ30 -152.90 NASDAQ -74.61 SP500 -23.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 576/2.15 bln/1980 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 660/909.6 mln/2363

3:30 pm :

Dec gold and Dec silver sold off to their respective session lows of $1296.00 and $21.38 per ounce in early morning floor action as the dollar index rallied following the European Central Bank's decision to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.25%.
Gold managed to erase some of the earlier losses and settled 0.7% lower at $1308.70 per ounce. Silver inched higher for the remainder of the session and closed at $21.66 per ounce, shaving losses to 0.5%. Dec crude oil also traded lower today as the stronger dollar index weighed on the commodities space.
The energy component touched a session low of $93.81 per barrel in late morning pit trade but erased some of the loss and settled at $94.24 per barrel, or 0.5% lower.
Dec natural gas brushed a session high of $3.62 per MMBtu moments after floor trade opened but trended lower after inventory data for the week ending Nov 1 showed that natural gas inventories rose by 35 bcf when a build of 35-40 bcf was expected. It gave up most of the earlier gains and settled just 0.6% higher at $3.52 per MMBtu.

5:15PM Advanced Semi announces joint development and production collaboration with Infineon (ASX) 4.87 -0.03 : Co announced a joint development and production agreement for assembly services of automotive products with Infineon Technologies AG. The collaboration will focus on enabling copper wire bonding for QFP packages in automotive microcontrollers and manufacturing.

4:38PM Alcoa sets new business targets at 2013 Investor Day (AA) 8.95 -0.71 : The following new business targets were announced for the 2013 to 2016 time period:

Engineered Products and Solutions

$1.2 billion in incremental revenue growth by 2016; $900 million coming from share gains through innovations
Adjusted EBITDA margin percent exceeding historical highs in 2016

Global Rolled Products

$1.0 billion in incremental revenue growth by 2016; $900 million through share gains and innovations
Adjusted EBITDA per metric ton at or above average historical highs in 2016

Global Primary Products

Improve position on global alumina cost curve by 6 percentage points, from 27th percentile to 21st percentile
Improve position on global aluminum cost curve by 5 percentage points, from 43rd percentile to 38th percentile

4:28PM NVIDIA reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q4 revs below consensus (NVDA) 14.55 -0.3 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.26 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.26; revenues fell 12.5% year/year to $1.05 bln vs the $1.05 bln consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $1.05 bln, plus of minus 2%, which equates to ~$1.03-1.07 bln vs $1.08 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:20PM Universal Display beats by $0.16, beats on revs; guides FY13 revs above consensus (OLED) 29.15 -0.84 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.16 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.04); revenues rose 162.4% year/year to $32.8 mln vs the $21.48 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY13, sees FY13 revs of $142-144 mln vs. $128.05 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:05PM Microsemi reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (MSCC) 24.17 -0.93 : Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $0.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.53; revenues fell 4.8% year/year to $250.4 mln vs the $250.03 mln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.42-0.46, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.56 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of decline 3-5% QoQ calc to ~$237.8-242.9 mln vs. $256.80 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

"Microsemi's strategic business model continued to serve us well in the September quarter, with a sequential increase in revenue of 3.2 percent and disciplined cost controls driving 100 basis points of operating margin improvement...Operating and free cash flows remained strong and we are confident that our overall strategy continues to bring benefit to our shareholders."

Large Cap Gainers

RIG (51.87 +5.79%): Beat on EPS by $0.30, beat on revs; announced construction contracts for five newbuild high-specifications jackups.
PRU (85.03 +3.96%): Beat on EPS by $0.84, missed on revs.
MT (16.77 +3.65%): Missed on EPS by $0.04, reported revs in-line; co may have interest in ThyssenKrupp's U.S. plant, according to reports.

Large Cap Losers

WFM (58.6 -9.11%): Beat on EPS by $0.01, missed on revs; lowered FY14 EPS below consensus, lowered FY4 revs below consensus; comps +5.9%; increased dividend by 20%; authorized a new share repurchase program in the amount of $500 mln.
TSLA (141.25 -6.56%): Upgraded to Hold from Sell at Standpoint Research.
SNI (75.2 -6.34%): Beat on EPS by $0.03, reported revs in-line.

Mid Cap Gainers

AWAY (34.11 +17.26%): Beat on EPS by $0.03, beat on revs; guided Q4 revs in-line; upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James; upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Monness Crespi & Hardt.
TPX (45.88 +14.39%): Beat on EPS by $0.05, beat on revs; reaffirmed FY13 EPS guidance, revs guidance.
SLH (65.48 +11.57%): Beat on EPS by $0.05, beat on revs; raised FY14 revenue guidance, below consensus, raised EPS guidance inline with consensus; upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Mid Cap Losers

NSM (40.56 -17.59%): Missed on EPS by $0.14, beat on revs; announced strategic initiatives; Stonegate Mortgage (SGM) to acquire co's wholesale lending channel.
WEN (7.98 -12.21%): Beat on EPS by $0.02, reported revs in-line; raised FY13 guidance.
SCTY (52.88 -11.36%): Beat on EPS by $0.02, beat on revs; guided Q4 EPS below consensus, revs in-line.

Microchip Technology (MCHP) announced the availability of its MPLAB Code Configurator.

8:09AM Vitesse Semi amends its senior secured loan agreement with Whitebox VSC (VTSS) 2.72 : Co amended its senior secured loan agreement with Whitebox VSC Ltd. giving the co rights of pre-payment, modifying interest rates and extending the maturity date to August 31, 2016. As part of the loan refinancing, the Company repurchased $13.7 mln of convertible second lien debentures held by Whitebox, reducing the co's total indebtedness. The new terms provide co with working capital to further fuel its new product growth strategy and supports increasing stockholder value. The loan amendment modifies the co's Term A Loan in the principal amount of $7.9 mln and Term B Loan in the principal amount of $9.3 mln. Both Term A and Term B Loans now come due on August 31, 2016, and each bears interest in cash at 9.0% per annum payable quarterly in arrears. The Term B Loan remains convertible into co common stock at a price of $4.95 per share through October 30, 2014. The loan amendment also permits the co to pre-pay the Term A and Term B Loans in whole or in part subject to the payment of a prepayment fee, and to pre-pay the co's convertible second lien debentures prior to their maturity in October 2014. The co repurchased Whitebox's $13.7 mln of debentures at a price of 107% of their principal amount. The repurchased debentures were convertible into approximately 3.0 mln common shares. Following the repurchase, $32.8 mln of convertible second lien debentures remain outstanding. The co intends to opportunistically repurchase additional debentures ahead of their maturity.

07:49 am SolarCity shares plunge 8% following disappointing guidance
SolarCity (SCTY $54.75 -4.90) reported third quarter loss of $0.43 per share, which is higher than expected, while revenues rose 52.0% year/year to $48.6 million which is higher than expected.Estimated Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining of $1,737 million at September 30, 2013, up 23% from $1,409 million at June 30, 2013.

Retained Value forecast of $846 million at September 30, 2013, equating to retained value per watt forecast of $1.37/W at September 30, 2013. Investments in Solar Energy Systems, Leased and to Be Leased, of $211.4 million bringing the cumulative total through the first nine months of 2013 to $507.7 million. Undeployed Tax Equity Financing Capacity of 149 MW as of November 1, 2013. MWs Deployed reached a new quarterly record of 78 MW as residential MWs deployed grew 151% year-over-year to 60 MW.

Cumulative total MWs deployed stood at 464 MW as of September 30, 2013. MWs Booked totaled 91 MW. Cumulative Energy Contracts increased 155% since the end of the third quarter of 2012 (and 21% since the end of the second quarter of 2013) to 72,506. Cumulative Customers grew to 82,235, up 133% since the end of the third quarter of 2012 (and 18% since the end of the second quarter of 2013).

Guidance for Q4 2013 and Update to 2013 and 2014 Outlook The company issued fourth quarter EPS of ($0.65)-($0.55) which is below estimates with revenues of $40-46 million which is line with expectations. For Q4 2013, the Company expects to deploy 101 MW and thus reaffirms its guidance for 2013 MW deployed of 278 MW. GAAP Operating Lease Revenue: $22 million - $24 million GAAP Solar Energy Systems Sale Revenue: $18 million - $22 million GAAP Gross Margin: 30%-40% GAAP Operating Expenses: $50 million - $55 million. Non-GAAP EPS (before Income (Loss) Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests): ($0.55) -- ($0.65). Positive net cash flow. For 2014, the Company reiterates its guidance for MW deployed in a range of 475 MW -- 525 MW.

07:48 am Qualcomm shares fall 5% following miss on earnings and downside gudiance
Qualcomm (QCOM $66.50 -3.24) reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.05 per share, which missed expectations, while revenues rose 33.0% year/year to $6.48 billion which is lower than expected. The company issued guidance for the first quarter with EPS of $1.10-1.20, and revenues of $6.3-6.9 billion, which are both below estimates.

MSM chip shipments: 190 million units, up 35 percent y-o-y and 10 percent sequentially. June quarter total reported device sales: approximately $60.2 billion, up 29 percent y-o-y and 7 percent sequentially. June quarter estimated 3G/4G device shipments: approximately 260 to 264 million units, at an estimated average selling price of approximately $227 to $233 per unit.

"I am very pleased with our record financial performance this year as we delivered revenues of $25 billon, up 30% versus last year. Our technologies underpin the global growth of wireless data, and our semiconductor solutions are used across the industry's flagship smartphones...Looking forward, we expect continued strong growth of 3G and 3G/4G multimode devices around the world, particularly in China with the anticipated launch of LTE. Qualcomm remains well positioned from a growth standpoint, and we expect double-digit compound annual growth rates for both revenues and earnings per share over the next five years." On August 21, 2013, we entered into a definitive agreement under which we agreed to sell the North and Latin American operations of our Omnitracs division for $800 mln, subject to closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals. We expect the transaction to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Upon close, we expect to record a gain on sale of approximately $0.22 to $0.25 earnings per share, which has been excluded from our fiscal first quarter and fiscal 2014 outlook."