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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The major averages ended today's choppy session on a mixed note. The S&P 500 added less than a point while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1%) and Nasdaq (-0.2%) posted modest losses.

Equities displayed early strength, but sellers were quick to knock the indices off their opening highs. The Nasdaq outperformed out of the gate, but ultimately led the broader market into the red. Despite the late-morning weakness, the S&P 500 was able to find support at Wednesday's low where dip buyers stepped up and helped the index return to its flat line.

Individual sectors ended with an even split as five groups posted gains while the other five ended lower.

The early weakness took place as consumer discretionary (-0.1%) and technology (-0.6%) sectors slumped. The discretionary space was able to recover nearly all of its losses by the close but retailers were less fortunate. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 85.81, -0.68) lost 0.8% after Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY 69.75, -9.93) and Family Dollar (FDO 64.97, -1.37) reported disappointing earnings. One retailer, Macy's (M 55.80, +3.96), stood out with a 7.6% gain after boosting its guidance and announcing plans to close five stores and lay off 2,500 employees.

Elsewhere, the technology sector was pressured by several top components as Apple (AAPL 536.52, -6.94), Cisco Systems (CSCO 22.09, -0.20), and Google (GOOG 1130.24, -10.99) lost between 0.9% and 1.3%.

Other cyclical sectors were mixed as energy (-0.4%) and materials (-0.4%) lagged while financials (+0.3%) and industrials (+0.4%) outperformed. Notably, the industrial sector was underpinned by airlines after United Continental (UAL 43.80, +2.78) reported a 4.1% increase in December traffic. The stock spiked 6.8% while the broader Dow Jones Transportation Average advanced 1.0%.

Over on the countercyclical side, consumer staples (+0.4%), health care (+0.7%), and utilities (+0.6%) outperformed while telecom services (-1.9%) endured another rough session. The rate-sensitive sector widened its January loss to 3.8%.

Speaking of rates, they ended on their lows. The benchmark 10-yr yield fell three basis points to 2.97%.

Participation was on the light side as only 683 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Today's economic data was limited to just two reports.

The weekly initial claims level fell to 330,000 from an upwardly revised 345,000 (from 339,000) while the Briefing.com consensus expected the claims level to fall to 338,000. The Labor Department stressed that the post-holiday period tends to be volatile as businesses dismiss their temporary work staff. Once the volatility is gone, we expect the initial claims level to stabilize at roughly its current level of 330,000. Normal volatility, however, could last another week or two. No states were estimated and the drop in claims was not attributed to the winter storm activity that began at the end of last week. Any effects of the storm will likely occur over the next week or two.
The December Challenger Job Cuts report pointed to a 6.0% decline in planned job cuts.

Tomorrow's data will also focus on jobs with December nonfarm payrolls set to be reported at 8:30 ET. Separately, the November Wholesale Inventories report will be released at 10:00 ET.

Russell 2000 -0.4% YTD
Nasdaq -0.5% YTD
S&P 500 -0.6% YTD
DJIA -0.8% YTD

DJ30 -17.98 NASDAQ -9.42 SP500 +0.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1250/2.1 bln/1327 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1609/682.7 mln/1415

3:35 pm :

Commodities were mixed today with precious metals trading higher and crude oil and natural gas falling deeper into the red
Feb gold rose for the first time in four sessions after oscillating between positive and negative territory. It touched a session high of $1230.90 per ounce in early morning pit trade and dipped as low as $1222.80 per ounce later in the session. The yellow metal eventually settled with a 0.3% gain at $1229.30 per ounce
Mar silver dipped to a session low of $19.38 per ounce in late morning floor action but regained momentum and climbed back into positive territory. It settled 0.8% higher at $19.68 per ounce, just below its session high of $19.71 per ounce
Feb crude oil extended yesterday's losses despite opening up in the black. The energy component retreated from its session high of $92.84 per barrel and fell into negative territory by mid-morning pit action. It trended lower to a session low of $91.24 per barrel and settled with a 0.7% loss at $91.68 per barrel
Feb natural gas spent all of today's pit trade in the red. It popped to a session high of $4.19 per MMBtu following inventory data that showed a draw of 157 bcf when a draw of 155 bcf was anticipated but quickly lost momentum. It trended lower for the remainder of the session and settled with a 5.0% loss at $4.01 per MMBtu.

4:15PM Progress Software beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY14 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (PRGS) 25.52 +0.08 : Reports Q4 (Nov) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues rose 5.1% year/year to $91 mln vs the $90.84 mln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.29-0.31, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.38 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $80-82 mln vs. $86.44 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Co issues downside EPS guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $1.40-1.50, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.56 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY14 revs of $340-350 mln vs. $349.10 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:15PM Alcoa misses by $0.02, beats on revs; sees 7% aluminum demand in 2014 (AA) 10.69 -0.14 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.04 per share, ex-$1.7 bln impairment from Primary Metals business, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.06; revenues fell 5.3% year/year to $5.59 bln vs the $5.38 bln consensus.

Engineered Products and Solutions (EPS) reported record fourth quarter after-tax operating income (ATOI), the upstream business improved performance for the ninth consecutive quarter, and all business segments produced productivity gains in the fourth quarter.

In 2014, Alcoa projects global growth in the aerospace (7% to 8%), automotive (1% to 4%), packaging (2% to 3%), and building and construction (4% to 6%) markets. After a strong 2013, Alcoa projects a steady commercial transportation market (-1% to 3%), and a decline in the industrial gas turbine market (-8% to -12%) on lower orders for new gas turbines and spare parts. Alcoa sees global aluminum demand growth of 7% in 2014, after 7% growth in 2013.

Earlier today, Alcoa announced the resolution of the investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding certain legacy alumina contracts with Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba).

4:08PM SunPower and MidAmerican Solar synchronize Solar Star development to the grid (SPWR) 32.79 -0.24 : SPWR announced that the first portion of the 579-megawatt Solar Star development -- two projects co-located in Kern and Los Angeles counties in California -- was successfully synchronized and is now delivering energy to the California ISO grid.
The Solar Star projects are owned by MidAmerican Solar. SunPower designed and is constructing the projects, and will provide operations and maintenance services. Construction on the projects began in early 2013 and is expected to be complete by year-end 2015

4:03PM Aehr Test Systems announces new customer order of more than $1 mln for multiple ABTS Burn-in and Test Systems from a European semiconductor manufacturer (AEHR) 3.13 +0.27 : AEHR announced it has received a new customer order of more than $1 mln for multiple ABTS Burn-in and Test Systems from a European semiconductor manufacturer.

Order includes down payments to lock in delivery slots and volume pricing discounts.
As the order is for a configuration that is shipping in volume today, shipments are expected before the end of co's fiscal 2014.
The ABTS systems will be used in the qualification and production of a wide variety of devices, including memories, microcontrollers and microprocessors. Qualification tests typically utilize a high-temperature operating life (HTOL) test, where failure mechanisms are accelerated by burning-in the devices for 1000 hours to confirm that the basic design and fabrication process of a device will meet the reliability targets over an extended period of normal use.

Large Cap Gainers

UAL (44.87 +9.38%): Reported Dec 2013 operational performance; consolidated traffic increased 4.1%.
M (55.62 +7.29%): Reported Holiday comps +3.6%; reaffirmed FY14 EPS, guided FY14 sales above consensus (narrowed FY14 comps); guided FY15 EPS above consensus including savings from cost reduction initiatives/restructuring; co will lay off 2500 employees and close 5 stores; upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at BMO Capital Mkts; tgt raised to $64 at Stifel.
YNDX (44.63 +5.63%): Added to buy list at Morgan Stanley.

Large Cap Losers

BBBY (69.06 -13.33%): Missed on EPS by $0.03, reported revs in-line; lowered Q4 EPS guidance below consensus; sees Q4 revs -3.9% to -5.7% (~$3.21-3.27 bln) vs $3.34 estimate; Q4 comparable store sales estimate decreased to +2-4% from +3.5-5.5%; tgt lowered to $73 from $84 at Canaccord Genuity; downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse; tgt lowered to $79 at Telsey Advisory Group.
ARMH (49.28 -7.04%): Downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
ALU (4.38 -4.99%): Downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank; resumed with Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Mid Cap Gainers

AYI (128.5 +16.79%): Beat on EPS by $0.12, beat on revs.
AAL (29.13 +5.41%): Reported December 2013 RPM +5% y/y.
GPN (66.98 +3.99%): Beat on EPS by $0.04, beat on revs; guided FY14 EPS in-line, revs in-line; downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo; downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James; target raised to $78 at RBC Capital Mkts.

Mid Cap Losers

FDML (20.37 -11.32%): Downgraded to Sell at Goldman.
CTRP (38.56 -13.37%): Weakness attributed to cautious comments from 86 Research; concern over competitive pricing pressure from QUNR.
PIR (20.45 -12.31%): Reported Dec 2013 comparable store sales increased 1.3% YoY; lowered Q4 EPS guidance.

International Rectifier, IR (IRF) has launched a Certified Design Partner Program dedicated to providing its expanding DC-DC power management customer base with extended technical resources to support their design needs.

9:17AM Real Goods Solar: Mercury Solar Systems shareholders vote in favor of Real Goods Solar merger (RSOL) 3.60 : Co announces shareholders voted in favor of its merger with a subsidiary of Real Goods Solar. Real Goods Solar will hold a Special Meeting of its Stockholders on January 14, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. (GMT), at the offices of Real Goods Solar, 833 West South Boulder Road, Louisville, Colorado to approve the merger.

The Company also announced that it has established operations in Puerto Rico and has several projects under development.

Recent successful commercial projects include:

Coda Resources installed a 400kw rooftop installation at its facility in Brooklyn, New York. It consists of 1600 panels and will offset nearly 75% of their electric bill. T
Panasonic installed a new solar system 120 feet above its new U.S. headquarters in Newark, New Jersey using Panasonic HIT solar panels, among the most efficient panels in the world. This new LEED certified building was built using US Green Building Guidelines and will showcase Panasonic's new ECOSYSTEMS business. Panasonic and Mercury are planning to install additional solar projects in New York and New Jersey during 2014.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GRCM) most notably known for its ownership of Keurig, is having the Company install a 524kw solar rooftop system at its headquarters in Reading, Massachusetts. This system is expected to provide Green Mountain Coffee Roasters with over 625,000 kwh of power per year, for the next 25 years.

8:54AM Alcoa resolves Alba matter with U.S. Government; Alcoa World Alumina will pay a total of $223 million (AA) 10.83 :

As part of the DOJ resolution, subject to final court approval later today, AWA will pay a total of $223 mln, including a fine of $209 mln payable in five equal installments over four years. The first installment of $41.8 mln, plus a one-time administrative forfeiture of $14 mln, will be paid in the first quarter of 2014, and the remaining installments of $41.8 mln each will be paid in the first quarters of 2015-2018.
The $223 mln amount is within the range previously disclosed by Alcoa Inc. During the second quarter of 2013, Alcoa recorded a $103 mln charge ($62 mln after non-controlling interest) for the DOJ investigation. Under the terms of the DOJ resolution, AWA is pleading guilty to one count of violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The DOJ is bringing no case against Alcoa Inc.
Alcoa also settled civil charges filed by the SEC in an administrative proceeding relating to the anti-bribery, internal controls, and books and records provisions of the FCPA. Under the terms of the settlement with the SEC, Alcoa Inc. agreed to a settlement amount of $175 mln, but will be given credit for the $14 mln one-time forfeiture payment, which is part of the DOJ resolution, resulting in a total cash payment to the SEC of $161 mln payable in five equal installments over four years. The first installment of $32.2 mln will be paid to the SEC in the first quarter of 2014, and the remaining installments of $32.2 mln each will be paid in the first quarters of 2015-2018.

IXYS Integrated Circuits Division, a subsidiary of IXYS (IXYS), announced the availability of the FDA217, an optically isolated, dual photovoltaic MOSFET driver.

8:41AM LDK Solar enters into new 15-day forbearance arrangement with holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of its US$-Settled 10% Senior Notes due 2014 (LDK) 1.36 : Co announced that it has entered into a new 15-day forbearance arrangement with holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of its US$-Settled 10% Senior Notes due 2014. The new forbearance arrangement, which expires on January 23, 2014, relates to the interest payment due under the Notes on August 28, 2013. That interest payment is still unpaid. It is LDK Solar's intention to find a consensual solution to its obligations under the Notes as soon as possible and LDK Solar remains hopeful that it will be able to achieve that goal.

As reported previously, LDK Solar has engaged Jefferies LLC as a financial advisor for strategic advice in connection with the Notes and LDK Solar's other offshore obligations.

NVDA -1.3% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity)

Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) announced multiple wins for the co's Purion XE single wafer, high energy implanter from two chipmakers located in the Asia Pacific region. The wins include the penetration of a new foundry process dedicated to advanced image sensor devices, as well as a follow on order from a new fab focused on advanced NAND devices.

KVH Industries (KVHI) has surpassed the 100-vessel mark in its 10-year contract to supply the next-generation satellite communications solution for the U.S. Coast Guard's fleet of small cutters.

7:27AM Suntech Power announced that Weiping Zhou resigned as interim Chief Executive Officer, interim Chief Financial Officer, and President with immediate effect (STPFQ) 0.54 : Zhou cited personal reasons for his departure. Suntech plans to announce new management pending final review by Suntech's board of directors and Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPLs).

7:06AM Canadian Solar announced the successful completion and grid connection of a 10 MW ground mounted solar power project in Sihong County of Jiangsu Province in eastern China (CSIQ) 38.43 : This project was developed by CSI Solar Power (China), a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, with Gaochuangte New Energy as the EPC contractor.

Global Payment (GPN) reported second quarter earnings of $1.07 per share, which is higher than expected, while revenues rose 7.7% year/year to $634.1 million which is higher than consensus. The company raised fiscal year 2014 EPS guidance to $4.03-4.10 which is in line with estates and the company maintained fiscal year 2014 revenue guidance of $2.51-2.56 billion which is line with expectations.
Finisar (FNSR) and u2t Photonics AG announced today that they have entered into an agreement under which Finisar will acquire 100% of the equity interests in u2t Photonics AG, located in Berlin, Germany for approximately $20 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments. Finisar will also assume net debt of approximately $7 million. The transaction is expected to close during the month of January. With this transaction, Finisar will add u2t's Indium-Phosphide (InP)-based 100G high speed receivers and photodetectors to its existing portfolio of high speed optics technologies. In addition, this acquisition will consolidate Finisar's previously announced partnership with u2t on InP-based IQ Mach-Zehnder modulators for 100G coherent applications. These receiver, photodiode and modulator technologies and products, when combined with Finisar's narrow-line width tunable lasers, will provide a full suite of optical components and enable Finisar to offer its customers vertically integrated modules for the 100G coherent metro and long haul markets. In calendar year 2013, u2t had total revenues of approximately $33 million.
Mattersight (MATR) issued upside guidance for fourth quarter with revenues of $9.10 million which is ahead of expectations. The company and significantly improved Adjusted EBITDA in Q4. In addition, Mattersight ended the quarter with approximately $13 million in cash. This ending cash balance includes the impact of the company's $6 million private placement that closed in early December and the payoff of the $3.7 million outstanding balance on its line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank.