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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : There was plenty of excitement in the stock market on Wednesday following the FOMC decision to taper its asset purchase program. There wasn't much excitement, however, on Thursday, which featured the added news that the Senate passed the two-year budget agreement. After some early gyrations, the major indices held to pretty tight trading ranges throughout the session and ended the day little changed.

All in all, it was a pretty good showing given the scope of Wednesday's advance and considering the yield on the 10-yr note went as high as 2.95% before settling back down to 2.93%.

A lack of concerted leadership and some buying exhaustion were to blame for the inability to log another record closing high for the S&P 500. It challenged Wednesday's high on two occasions, but each time it was greeted with renewed selling interest that held it in check. The Dow, though, eked out another record close.

Sector-wise, there wasn't a single sector that moved up, or down, more than 1.0%. The performance range was highlighted by a 0.3% gain for the materials sectors on the upside and a 0.7% loss for the rate-sensitive utilities sector on the downside.

Large-cap averages held up better than their smaller counterparts, but a 1.2% drop in Apple (AAPL 544.46, -6.31) left the Nasdaq 100 in a position of underperforming the broader market. The S&P Midcap 400 Index (-0.8%) and the Russell 2000 (-0.8%) were the biggest laggards. That was likely owed to some portfolio rebalancing decisions given that each has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 year-to-date.

Another notable pocket of weakness was found in the precious metals space. Gold (-$43.30 to $1191.70/troy oz.) and silver (-$0.89 to $19.17/troy oz.) dropped 3.5% and 4.4%, respectively, on a host of reasonable explanations that ranged from dollar strength to a lack of inflation concern to tax-loss selling.

Today's economic data didn't move the needle much since it was a mixed bag.

Initial claims for the week ending December 14 rose by 10,000 to 379,000 (Briefing.com consensus 333,000). That was the highest level in nine months, but once again seasonal adjustment problems were cited by the Department of Labor as impacting the reporting, so it couldn't be taken at face value as a "clean read."
Existing home sales declined 4.3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.90 mln (Briefing.com consensus 5.00 mln). November marked the first time in 29 months that home sales were below year-ago levels.
The Philadelphia Fed Index jumped to 7.0 in December (Briefing.com consensus 5.0) from 6.5, reflecting an expansion in manufacturing activity in the Philly Fed region
Leading Indicators increased 0.8% in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%) following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase (from 0.2%) in October

The only item on Friday's economic calendar is the third estimate for third quarter GDP (Briefing.com consensus 3.6%; prior 3.6%), which isn't expected to have any impact given its dated nature.

Trading volume today was on the lighter side with 688 mln shares changing hands at the NYSE. That number will be substantially higher on Friday given the quarterly rebalancing and options expiration activity.

Nasdaq +34.1% YTD
Russell 2000 +32.7% YTD
S&P 500 +26.9% YTD
DJIA +23.5% YTD

DJ30 +11.11 NASDAQ -11.93 SP500 -1.05 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 966/1.68 bln/1602 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1306/688 mln/1752

3:30 pm :

Precious metals were under significant pressure today as the dollar index held gains following yesterday's FOMC taper announcement. Feb gold fell below the $1200 per ounce level after touching a session high of $1207.80 per ounce in early morning pit trade. It settled with a 3.3% loss at $1193.60 per ounce, at the lowest level since Aug 2010 for the continuous contract
Mar silver traded in a consolidative fashion near the $19.20 per ounce level. Unable to gain momentum, it settled 4.4% lower at $19.18 per ounce
Jan crude oil extended yesterday's gains despite the stronger dollar index. It came off its session low of $97.85 per barrel set at pit trade open and rose to a session high of $99.49 per barrel. The energy component pulled back slightly in late afternoon floor action and settled with a 1.0% gain at $99.07 per barrel
Jan natural gas advanced to the highest level since July 2011 following a record weekly drop in stockpiles. Inventory data for the week ending Dec 13 showed a draw of 285 bcf when a draw of 258-264 bcf was anticipated. Natural gas lifted from its session low of $4.29 per MMBtu and settled with a 4.7% gain at $4.46 per MMBtu.

5:00PM Texas Instruments acquires UTAC facility in Chengdu, China (TXN) 42.46 -0.64 : Co announced it has acquired a building in the Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone from UTAC Chengdu Ltd. Earlier this year, TI announced its investments in these operations could total up to $1.69 billion over the next 15 years, further demonstrating its long-term investment strategy in this important region. The new 358,000 square-foot facility will become TI's seventh assembly/test (A/T) operation. Located on the same property as TI's existing wafer fab in Chengdu, the site will become the company's only end-to-end wafer fabrication and A/T facility.

4:01PM CalAmp announced that it has begun supplying its advanced LMU-3000 family of wireless tracking/communications devices to Himex (CAMP) 25.15 : Co announced that it has begun supplying its advanced LMU-3000 family of wireless tracking/communications devices to HIMEX for use in that company's usage-based insurance applications. Three of the largest auto insurance companies in the United States have selected and begun deploying the HIMEX UBI platform utilizing CalAmp devices.

Large Cap Gainers

CAG (33.72 +6.06%): Beat on EPS by $0.06, beat on revs; reaffirmed FY14 EPS guidance.
ORCL (36.28 +4.85%): Beat on EPS by $0.02, beat on revs; sees Q3 EPS of $0.68-0.72 vs $0.70 consensus; target raised to $40 from $38 at FBR Capital.
ACN (78.91 +4.35%): Beat on EPS by $0.05, beat on revs; guided Q2 revs below consensus; raised FY14 EPS slightly, in-line, reaffirmed FY14 constant FX rev.

Large Cap Losers

TSLA (141.47 -4.4%): Reuters reported that Model S charging system may have started California garage fire; however, a Bloomberg story out earlier stated the Model S Charger did not cause a garage fire.
PRGO (150.56 -3.28%): Resumed with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley; tgt $183.
ABBV (52.66 -3.06%): Downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Mid Cap Gainers

IACI (69.31 +15.34%): Co announced it is reorganizing; Greg Blatt, the co's CEO, will become the Chairman of newly created Match Group.
WOR (45.71 +7.12%): Reported Q2 results, beat on revs.
PIR (21.58 +4.1%): Missed on EPS by $0.02, reported revs in-line; guided Q4 EPS in-line; Q3 comps +6.9%.

Mid Cap Losers

CIE (14.19 -9.39%): Announces targeted zones of its Aegean #1 exploratory well on Keathley Canyon Block 163 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons and operations are underway to plug and abandon the wellbore; tgt lowered to $28 at Mizuho.
RAD (5.26 -8.68%): Reported GAAP EPS in-line with GAAP consensus including charge related to preferred share redemption, revs in-line; lowered FY14 EPS below consensus, raised FY14 revs in-line; Q3 comps +2.3%; co and GNC (GNC) announced extension of partnership through 2019.
ROSE (46.28 -6.07%): Announced its Board of Directors has approved a 2014 capital budget of $1.1 bln; expects full year 2014 production to range from 60 -- 65 MBoe/d.

ARM (ARMH) and STMicroelectronics (STM) announced that ST has joined the ARM mbed Project.

Crucial, a brand of Micron (MU), released a new lineup of high-performance memory solutions specifically designed for the new AAPL Mac Pro systems.

ANADIGICS (ANAD) has expanded its sales presence by appointing Alltek Technology as a distributor for the Asia-Pacific region.

9:15AM Integrated Silicon announced that Scott D. Howarth, President and CEO, will take medical leave with reduced work duties through the end of February 2014 (ISSI) 11.75 : Co announced that Scott Howarth, President and CEO, will take medical leave with reduced work duties through the end of February 2014. During this time, Mr. Howarth's duties will be fulfilled by ISSI's existing senior management team.

9:09AM IBM to acquire Aspera; financial terms not disclosed (IBM) 178.70 : Aspera's technology helps companies securely speed the movement of massive data files around the world. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter 2014.

9:04AM Avnet: SanDisk (SNDK) signs global distribution agreement with avnet to broaden availability of flash storage for use in the enterprise and industrial markets (AVT) 42.27 : Cos announced that Avnet will offer a wide portfolio of flash-based hardware and software solutions from SanDisk to its customers throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America through its Avnet Electronics Marketing and Avnet Technology Solutions operating groups.

7:20AM Trina Solar has been chosen as the sole supplier of 25 MW of modules to Phase III of the 75 MW Bangchak Solar Energy Project in Thailand (TSL) 13.26 : The project is owned by Bangchak Solar Energy (Nakhonratchasima) and Bangchak Solar Energy (Chaiyaphum 1), the subsidiaries of Bangchak Solar Energy and will be constructed by Gunkul Engineering Public. Trina Solar is expected to commence shipment in late December.

5:09AM ReneSola to provide 364.7 KW in modules and inverters to Vista Solar (SOL) 3.10 : Co announces collaborative projects with Silicon Valley-based solar integrator Vista Solar.

A 315 kW array is being constructed for Therm-X, a thermal solutions company based in California, and will be powered by ReneSola's 305W polycrystalline panels. Two additional systems totaling nearly 50 kW have been constructed for Our Lady of Peace Church and Saint Justin School. Both sites will host solar systems featuring ReneSola's 255W polycrystalline and 255W monocrystalline modules.

In addition, Vista Solar is testing ReneSola's microinverters and string inverters on a demo rooftop project with DCL, a Silicon Valley-based technology manufacturing, fulfillment, and logistics services provider.

Paychex (PAYX) reported second quarter of $0.43 per share, which is higher than expected, while revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $610.5 million which is higher than expected. Payroll service revenue was $395.7 mln for the second quarter, an increase of 5% compared to the same period last year. This increase was driven by growth in checks per payroll and revenue per check. "We are pleased with our progress in the second quarter of fiscal 2014. The rate of growth in our Payroll service revenue accelerated to 5% and Human Resource Services revenue growth continued to advance at a double-digit rate. Sales execution remained strong, particularly in core payroll and in Human Resource Services. We continue to deliver client satisfaction and client retention at record levels." The company sees net income growth of 8-9% for FY14. Operating income, net of certain items, as a percent of total service revenue is expected to be approximately 38% for fiscal 2014. The effective income tax rate for fiscal 2014 is expected to be in the range of 36% to 37%. Net income growth for fiscal 2014 is expected to benefit from a strong comparison in the fourth quarter as a result of the impact of the settlement of a state income tax matter in fiscal 2013, which reduced diluted earnings per share by ~$0.04 per share. This settlement is not expected to have an impact on the effective income tax rate for fiscal 2014.
Oracle (ORCL) reported second quarter earnings of $0.69 per share, excluding non-recurring items, which is better than expected, while revenues rose 1.9% year/year to $9.28 billion which is higher than expected. New software licenses revenue -1% to $2.4 billion. Non-GAAP software license updates and product support revenues were up 6% to $4.5 billion. Hardware revenue of $714 million,. Hardware Systems revenues, including hardware systems products and hardware systems support, were unchanged at $1.3 billion. Non-GAAP operating income was down 1% at $4.2 billion, and the non-GAAP operating margin was 46%. "We're very pleased with our results as new software license and cloud software subscription revenue grew 1% in constant currency over the 18% growth reported last year. Software revenue grew 5% helping drive our tremendous cash flow and for the first time ever, we generated more than $15 billion in operating cash flow over four quarters. Our hardware business, including support, grew 2% in constant currency this quarter driven by double-digit revenue growth in Exadata, Exalogic and Exalytics. The SPARC SuperCluster and Big Data Appliance were even better, with triple-digit growth and we expect hardware products will show growth next quarter. Our billion dollar SaaS business delivered overall bookings growth of 35% in the quarter." The company sees Q3 EPS of $0.68-0.73 which is line with estimates. The company also sees total revenue growth of 2-6% which is line with estimates. It sees Q3 new software license and cloud rev growth of +1% to +11% in reported dollars. It finally sees Q3 hardware product rev growth -2% to +8% in reported dollars.
BlackBerry (BBRY) announced two appointments that strengthen the Company's strategy, marketing and operations. James S. Mackey was appointed Executive Vice President for Corporate Development and Strategic Planning, joining the Company with years of experience executing highly successful corporate strategies that drive growth. Before joining BlackBerry, Mackey served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Open Text Corp., as well as head of Corporate Development at SAP. Mark Wilson was named Senior Vice President of Marketing and brings extensive experience building brand preference and driving integrated marketing for a number of well-known companies. Wilson will join BlackBerry in January from Avaya, where as CMO he led the marketing transition to a customer-solutions orientation.