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From Briefing.com: 4:15 pm : The stock market began the new trading week on a subdued note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 posted gains between 0.1% and 0.5% with the Nasdaq Composite ending in the lead.


Overall, the session had a 'wait-and-see' feel as many participants stuck to the sidelines ahead of tomorrow's Humphrey-Hawkins testimony on monetary policy. Although Fed Chair Janet Yellen is expected to strike a similar tone to the latest FOMC policy statement, the testimony will be the first public appearance for the new Fed Chair. Janet Yellen's prepared remarks will be released at 8:30 ET while the Q&A before the House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to begin at 10:00 ET.

The limited participation was reflected in today's trading volume as only 640 million shares changed hands at the NYSE. In fact, the final tally marked the lowest daily volume since January 28.

Seven out of ten sectors posted gains with health care (+0.9%) ending in the lead. The group outperformed throughout the session thanks in part to the relative strength of biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 250.72, +4.39) advanced 1.8% and also provided support to the Nasdaq Composite.

Like health care, the remaining countercyclical sectors also finished in the green, posting gains between 0.4% and 0.7%.

Things were a bit more mixed on the cyclical side where financials (+0.1%), technology (+0.3%), and materials (+0.4%) outperformed while consumer discretionary (-0.04%), energy (-0.6%), and industrials (-0.6%) lagged.

Notably, the industrial sector was pressured by broad weakness among transports. The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 1.0% as 17 of its 20 components ended in the red. The bellwether complex lagged for the second consecutive session after coming up short of its 50-day moving average (7272) on Friday.

Elsewhere, the energy sector finished behind the remaining groups as large components like Chevron (CVX 111.69, -0.36) and ExxonMobil (XOM 89.52, -1.06) lagged. The two Dow members lost 0.3% and 1.2%, respectively.

Treasuries settled modestly higher with the 10-yr yield off one basis point at 2.67%.

Tomorrow, the wholesale inventories report for December will be released at 10:00 ET.

Nasdaq Composite -0.7% YTD
S&P 500 -2.6% YTD
Russell 2000 -3.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -4.7% YTD

DJ30 +7.71 NASDAQ +22.31 SP500 2.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1521/1.69 bln/1047 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1796/640.4 mln/1234

3:35 pm :

Natural gas futures lost steam, while crude oil futures rise above $100/barrel.
Mar natural gas finished today's session 20 cents lower at $4.58/MMBtu. Mar crude oil closed $0.20 higher at $100.07/barrel.
Precious metals showed some gains today with both gold and silver futures rising higher today.
Apr gold rose $11.90 to $1274.80/oz and Mar silver rose $0.19 to $20.12/oz.

4:58PM Rackspace on Conference Call- Guides Q1 and FY14 revs in line (RAX) 40.36 +0.85 :

Co sees Q1 2-3.5% (Approx $416-422 mln), Capital IQ consensus $417 mln; expect seasonally lower Q1; Expects EBITDA margins in the range of 31-33% and to improve in subsequent quarters
FY14 sees revenue growth of 15-18% (Approx $1.764-1.810 bln, Capital IQ consensus $1.775 bln) Capital IQ consensus $1.775 bln; expects continued uptick in quarterly performances; Capex should trend around 25% of revenue; adjusted EBITDA margins 32-35% in FY14

4:36PM Photronics (halted, will resume trade at 17:00) lowers Q1 guidance (PLAB) 8.18 -0.07 : Co issues downside guidance for Q1 (Jan), lowers EPS to $0.03-0.04, excluding non-recurring items, from $0.06-0.10 vs. $0.09 Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q1 (Jan) revs of ~$101.5 mln (from $103-107 mln) vs. $105.54 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

"We expect that our first quarter revenue and EPS will be lower than previously anticipated as a result of a number of factors, including a slower than projected post-holiday recovery in our mainstream business in the U.S. and Europe, a delayed ramp in our high-end memory, and the absence of a pre-Lunar New Year pull-in in Taiwan. On the positive side, our Korean IC business was stronger sequentially. We continue to expect that the strength of our technology, our financial position and our deep customer relationships will lead to solid growth for the year."

4:32PM InvenSense and STMicroelectronics (STM) announce settlement of pending patent litigation (INVN) 19.58 +1.08 : STM and INVN announced that they have settled all pending proceedings between them and have entered into a patent cross license agreement.

The two companies had instituted various proceedings beginning in May 2012 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and with the United States International Trade Commission.
This settlement and patent cross license resolves all such actions.
Under terms of the settlement, neither ST nor InvenSense has made any admission of liability with respect to such proceedings.
Other terms between the parties are confidential.

4:09PM Amkor beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (AMKR) 5.32 +0.13 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.13; revenues rose 4.4% year/year to $755 mln vs the $760.43 mln consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of ($0.02)-$0.08 vs. $0.09 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $650-700 mln vs. $724.26 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Large Cap Gainers

TSLA (197.8 +6.04%): Reuters reporting that China plasn to extend electric car busidies until after 2015
TTM (30.41 +4.90%): Reported Q3 EPS $0.24 vs. $0.08 last year (EBITDA $1.71 bln); revs rose 39% yoy to $10.3 bln vs $9.7 bln estimate
ALXN (169.46 +3.56%): Target raised to $205 from $125 at Deutsche Bank

Large Cap Losers

MT (16.35 -5.33%): Reuters reporting that co is considering buying a part of all of Italian steelmaker Ilva; downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill
L (43.14 -4.52%): Reported Q4 EPS of -$0.51, revs rose 4.6% yoy to $3.88 bln; Q4 net income saw goodwill impairment charges of $398 mln related to HighMount reflecting the continued low market prices for natural gas and natural gas liquids and recent history of negative reserve revisions
S (7.74 -3.43%): Initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays, target $9; WSJ reporting that co plans to rethink a T-Mobile acquisition after antitrust concerns

Mid Cap Gainers

ICPT (383 +8.94%): Target raised to $493 from $449 at Wedbush
AUY (9.71 +5.89%): Strength in mid-cap gold companies: AEM, KGC, EGO, GFI also higher
HAS (53.02 +5.85%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.10 ($1.12 ex items vs $1.22 estimate), revs fell 0.1% yoy to $1.28 bln vs $1.3 bln estimate; Board increased quarterly dividend 8% to $0.43 from $0.40 per share, co repurchased 2.3 mln shares of common stock during 2013 for $102.5 mln

Mid Cap Losers

MCY (42.42 -6.73%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.20 ($0.33 vs $0.53 estimate), net premiums written rose 2.0% yoy to $668.1 mln vs $661.48 mln estimate
ACIW (55.45 -6.35%): Sees FY14 revs of $865-870 mln vs $883.51 mln estimate
MDCO (32.06 -6.30%): Cautious briefing documents released ahead of co's Feb 12, 2014 FDA Advisory Committee meeting to review Cangrelor for the reduction of thrombotic cardiovascular events (including stent thrombosis) in patients with coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

7:04AM Freescale Semi intends to offer 30 mln common shares (FSL) 18.01 : Co intends to offer 30,000,000 common shares, par value $0.01 per share, in an underwritten public offering, subject to market and other conditions. In addition, Freescale intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 4,500,000 additional common shares of Freescale. Freescale intends to use the contributed net proceeds, together with cash on hand, to redeem all of its outstanding 10.125% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2016 and a portion of its outstanding 8.05% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2020, in each case in accordance with the indenture governing the applicable series of notes, and to pay the related premium and fees.

Goldman, Sachs & Co., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC will act as joint book-running managers for the offering.

7:03AM SunEdison announces cost reduction actions in Merano, ItalyaAnd St. Peters, Missouri semiconductor operations (SUNE) 14.57 : will indefinitely close its shuttered polysilicon manufacturing facility in Merano, Italy immediately. This is the conclusion of a process that began with the previously announced 2011 global restructuring plan.

The Merano polysilicon facility was shuttered in Dec of 2011 as part of a restructuring plan to better align the business with current and expected market conditions and improve overall cost competitiveness. For the past two years SunEdison explored various options to improve the cost effectiveness of the Merano polysilicon facility. Ultimately, the identified cost reductions were not enough to sustain the economic viability of the plant in the current market environment. The indefinite closure will affect approximately 200 employees at the Merano polysilicon plant. In connection with the closure, the associated electronic grade TCS (trichlorosilane) operation, which employs approximately 35 people, will be closed over the next 12 months. As a result of the decision to indefinitely close the polysilicon manufacturing facility and TCS operation, we expect to record ~$37 million of fixed asset impairments for the year-ended December 31, 2013.

SunEdison will also commence a plan to consolidate its semiconductor crystal operations. The consolidation will include the transitioning of small diameter crystal activities in its St. Peters, Missouri facility to its other crystal facilities in Korea

6:04AM JA Solar Module performance in extreme environments certified by China quality certification center (JASO) 9.13 :

Co announced that the performance of the Company's solar modules in extreme environments has been certified by the China Quality Certification Center.
JA Solar is the first solar product manufacturer to receive this CQC accreditation. As part of the certification process, JA Solar modules were tested for reliability and durability under high temperatures in both dry and humid conditions, as well as in conditions simulating those found at high altitudes.
The tests, which meet and in some cases exceed International Electrotechnical Commission standards, concluded that the Company's modules continued to perform well in each of these environmental conditions.

Entegris (ENTG) announced Protego Plus HT/HTX with 7 nm rated retention, the most advanced purifier/filter for removing metallic contamination from deionized water while also removing more fine particles than other purifiers on the market.

ARM (ARMH) and SMIC (SMI) announced an agreement to offer the ARM Artisan physical IP platform for SMIC's 28nm poly SiON process to provide high-performance, high-density and low-power technologies for SoC designs.

8:02AM Xilinx to redeem outstanding junior subordinated convertible debentures due 2037 (XLNX) 46.10 : Co announced it has issued a notice of redemption to redeem on March 17, 2014 all of its outstanding 3.125% Junior Convertible Subordinated Debentures due 2037. As of February 7, 2014, $689,635,000 of the Convertible Debentures was outstanding. The last reported sale price of co's common stock on February 7, 2014 was $46.10 per share.
Holders may convert the Convertible Debentures at any time prior to the close of business on March 14, 2014 at a conversion rate of 34.6593 shares of co's common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Debentures (which is equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $28.8523 per share) with a related Observation Period (as defined in the Indenture for the Convertible Debentures) of February 12, 2014 through March 12, 2014.

Interdigital Comm (IDCC) announced that it is continuing to cooperate with an Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) investigation by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and intends to submit a proposed commitments request to NDRC that could form the predicate for suspension of NDRC's investigation under a procedure provided for under the AML. On January 3, 2014, an InterDigital executive, accompanied by local and U.S. outside counsel, met with NDRC officials to respond to NDRC's investigation, to explain the Company's recent settlement agreement with the Chinese company in this matter and to discuss the way forward for resolving NDRC's investigation of InterDigital's licensing conduct. The Company executive reiterated at the meeting that InterDigital fully respects the authority of NDRC to implement the AML against monopolistic conduct that restricts competition in China's market. During the January 3 meeting, NDRC officials indicated that InterDigital's executives, as well as executives of any other foreign company, should have no concerns about being detained or arrested if they travel to China to meet with NDRC in response to an AML investigation, as there is no legal basis for such action under Chinese anti-monopoly laws. NDRC also indicated that any foreign company that has been requested to appear before NDRC to respond to an investigation may propose who will attend the meeting on the company's behalf, which may include foreign outside counsel with a good understanding of the AML. The InterDigital executive indicated to NDRC that it was unfortunate that the Company had misunderstood Chinese law and NDRC's rules and procedures in that regard. InterDigital will continue to cooperate with NDRC's anti-monopoly investigation and work with NDRC to resolve any remaining concerns.
Nokia (NOK) and HTC have settled all pending patent litigation between them, and entered into a patent and technology collaboration agreement. HTC will make payments to Nokia and the collaboration will involve HTC's LTE patent portfolio, further strengthening Nokia's licensing offering. The companies will also explore future technology collaboration opportunities. The full terms of the agreement are confidential.
Sohu.com (SOHU) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.12 per share, which is higher than expected, while revenues rose 28.9% year/year to $385.5 million which is line with estimates. Q4 performance by segment: Total online advertising revenues, which include revenues from brand advertising and search and others businesses for the fourth quarter of 2013, were $188 million, up 55% year-over-year and 6% quarter-over-quarter.Brand advertising revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 totaled $123 million, up 50% year-over-year and down 1% quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to the revenue increase in online video and real estate advertising businesses.Search and others revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 were $64 million, up 66% year-over-year and 23% quarter-over-quarter. The increase was mainly due to increased traffic and improved monetization.Online game revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 were $172 million, up 9% year-over-year and 6% quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increase was mainly due to increased revenue from TLBB after the release of the major expansion pack "New TLBB" in the fourth quarter of 2013.Mobile revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 were $10 million, down 21% year-over-year and 32% quarter-over-quarter.Guidance: The company issued first quarter guidance with EPS of ($1.20)-($1.10) and revenues of $355-367 million which is lower than expected.
Changyou.com (CYOU) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.82 per share, which is higher than expected, while revenues rose 12.3% year/year to $194.9 million which is line with estimates. Online game revenues reached a record $172.0 million, an increase of 6% quarter-over-quarter and 9% year-over-year, and were in line with the Company's guidance.Online advertising revenues reached a record $16.9 million, an increase of 3% quarter-over-quarter and 35% year-over-year, and were in line with the Company's guidance. Guidance: The company issued guidance for the first quarter with EPS of ($0.42)-($0.30) and revenues of $174-180 million which are below estimates.. The expected non-GAAP net loss attributable to co is because total revenues are expected to decrease, and the Company plans to increase expenditures on marketing of software applications for PCs and mobile devices in China and overseas, and to increase its investment in human capital. CFO resignation Additionally, co announces resignation of chief financial officer, Alex Ho, who is leaving his position to start his own business. His resignation is effective March 4, 2014. Erin Sheng, currently finance director at Changyou, will assume the role of interim CFO following Ho's departure. Changyou is in the process of searching for a permanent chief financial officer.