From Briefing.com: 4:20 pm : Thursday was another wild session on Wall Street. Stocks opened on a low note on warnings from a major credit card lender and weak retail sales, but managed to finish with strong gains after a report suggested a major financial deal was in the works. A speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke added to the volatility.
The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P ended up 0.9%, 0.8%, and 0.6%, respectively. The gains are more impressive when considering the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P were down 0.8%, 1.1% and 1.0% respectively, at their lows of the day.
Stocks were in the red in late trade and then soared at 14:30 ET on a Wall Street Journal report that Bank of America (BAC 39.30, +0.56) is in advanced talks to acquire Countrywide (CFC 7.75, +2.63). The report said it is not clear how fast a deal will be struck, and it is possible that an agreement may be delayed or fall apart, according to the Journal's sources. A CNBC reporter said she expected the deal to happen very shortly, with an announcement probably by the end of the week. Neither company has commented on the reports.
Countrywide's stock spiked 51% on the news, and the financial sector (+2.3%) finished as the leader. The 2.3% gain is even more striking, considering financials were down 2% at their lows of the day. The thrifts & mortgages group gained 8.2%.
The Countrywide report overshadowed Fed Chairman's Bernanke's speech on the economy at 13:00 ET, which most thought was going to be Thursday's headliner. Bernanke said additional policy easing may be necessary, and that the Fed stands ready to take "substantive additional action." Stocks spiked as the prepared text hit the wires, but fell back into negative territory by the time the Countrywide news broke.
Fed funds futures indicate an 88% chance of a 50 basis point rate cut, up from the pre-Bernanke speech level of 74%. The increased bets of a rate cut, along with the Bank of England and the European Central Bank standing pat on their rates, caused the dollar to slide 0.67%.
Weighing on early sentiment, Capital One (COF 42.92, -0.43) reduced its profit outlook due to increased loan delinquencies and additional legal reserves established in the fourth quarter. Its stock traded down as much as 10.4%, but managed to pare much of its losses as it rose in conjunction with other financials.
The majority of retailers reported disappointing same-store sales, although a few of the larger companies reported better than expected numbers. Some names that topped expectations include Wal-Mart (WMT 48.32, +1.42), Target (TGT 51.55, +1.63) and Costco (COST 69.86, +2.59). The S&P 500 Retailing Index finished 0.8% higher.
On the economic front, jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 5 unexpectedly slid to 322,000 from 337,000. This data are from a shortened holiday week so some may dismiss it as aberrant. However, it does indicate companies are not laying people off at a rate that is consistent with recessions.
Eight sectors traded higher, led by financials (+2.3%) and telecom (+1.7%). Energy (-0.5%) was a laggard as oil prices fell 1.5% to $94.25 per barrel.DJ30 +117.78 NASDAQ +13.97 NQ100 +0.2% R2K +1.1% SP400 +0.9% SP500 +11.20 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1172/1815/2.55 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1032/2128/1.82 bln
6:55PM Benchmark Elec reaffirms Q4 EPS and revs guidance (BHE) 16.27 +0.51 : Co sees Q4 EPS of $0.32-0.38, excluding charges and option expense, may not be comparable to $0.33 First Call consensus (consensus includes option expense). Co sees Q4 revs s of $700-740 mln vs. $721.0 mln consensus.
6:03PM Juniper Networks announces that Stephen Elop resigned as the Chief Operating Officer (JNPR) 30.67 -0.15 : Co announces in an 8-K that on January 9, 2008, Stephen Elop resigned as the Chief Operating Officer of Juniper Networks (the "Co"). Elop's decision to resign was due to his acceptance of an executive officer position with Microsoft Corporation, and was not due to any disagreement with the Co on any matters relating to the Co's operations, policies or practices.
5:19PM CalAmp delays Q3 10-Q filing; sees Q3 revs below consensus (CAMP) 2.20 -0.02 : Co also announces that as a result of a significant decrease in recent business with a key Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) customer due to a product performance issue as previously disclosed, the Co reaffirms reporting revenue for Q3 of $32.1 mln vs $33.3 mln First Call single-analyst est. Based on this analysis, the Co expects to record a non-cash impairment charge in the range of $64-68 mln for the quarter ended December 1, 2007, which net of tax represents a charge in the range of $2.38-2.48 per diluted share. Adjusted Basis income (loss) from continuing operations is expected to be approximately breakeven, excluding items and option expense, may not be comparable to ($0.10) First Call single-analyst est (consensus includes option expense), compared to the previously reported guidance range of $(0.01) to $(0.05) loss per diluted share.
3:59PM Market View: Choppy follow through gains (TECHX) : Solid follow through gains on Wednesday's late day market recovery but it wasn't a smooth ride as very whippy trade persisted throughout. The market opened on a weaker note following a warning from the banking sector (COF), negative commentary from GS (cut targets on Financial stocks) and weakness in Energy (Crude Oil -1.5%). Some backing and filling after an aggressive run is not unusual but the pullback was limited in scope. The indices rebounded off the early low but formed a choppy range to await commentary from the Fed Chairman. His negative take (2008 outlook has worsened) triggered a spike to the upside as the market apparently made the case that larger than anticipated Fed cuts could be ahead. While the majority of these gains were wiped out in early afternoon action, reports that BAC is in advanced talks to buy CFC triggered a Finance +1.7% (Bank +3.6%%, Broker +3.6%) and Housing +2.2% led market sprint to new session highs. On the day Airline +12%/Transports +2.7% paced the way (merger talk/crude oil decline) along with Steel +4.8%, Mining +1.9%, Gold +1.9%, Restaurant +1.8%, Telecom +1.8%, Internet HOLDRs +1.8% and Retail HOLDRs +1.6%. Limited losers included: Oil Service HOLDRs -1.2%, Oil -0.9% Utility -0.4%.
8:04AM Skyworks expects to report at the high end of Q1 FY08 revenue and earnings guidance range (SWKS) 7.69 : Prior Q1 guidance $0.15-0.17 vs consensus of $0.16, revs $210 mln vs consensus of $207.95 mln.
Market Data 
Markets 
