From Briefing.com: 4:20 pm : After opening slightly lower, equities spent the rest of the session in negative territory.
July home sales were reported at an annualized rate of 372,000, which was higher than the 365,000 that had been expected. However, initial unemployment claims data before the open came in a little worse than expected, as the reading increased to 372,000 from the 368,000 observed in the prior week. In addition, continuing claims rose to about 3.317 million from 3.305 million.
Homebuilder stocks seemed poised for their second day of gains as the group got an initial boost from the better-than-expected new home sales. However, after showing early strength, shares within the space succumbed to the pressure exerted by the broader market. As a result Standard Pacific (SPF 6.39, -0.11), MDC Holdings (MDC 33.24, -0.64), and Toll Brothers (TOL 32.63, -0.38) were all down between 1.0% and 2.0%.
Healthcare stocks showed slightly slimmer losses than the broader market. The outperformance can be attributed to a handful of components which made significant advances. Luminex (LMNX 19.42, +1.01) was higher by 5.5% after UBS upgraded the stock from ‘neutral' to ‘buy.' Meanwhile, Rosetta Genomics (ROSG 6.36, +1.63) soared 34.5% after analysts at Aegis initiated coverage with a ‘buy' rating and a $16.00 price target.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD 7.31, +0.36) advanced 5.2% after reporting mixed earnings. KKD beat on earnings but missed revenue expectations and issued downside guidance. The management said that net income fell due to a higher income tax rate. Company executives also discussed five-year expansion plans which call for the opening of 80 stores in southern and western India. The first store is expected to open by the end of this year. Rivals Dunkin Brands (DNKN 28.16, -0.55) and Starbucks (SBUX 47.90, -0.22) ended lower by 1.9% and 0.5%, respectively.
Tomorrow's economic releases are limited to durable orders and durable orders ex-transportation at 8:30 AM ET.DJ30 -115.30 NASDAQ -20.27 SP500 -11.41 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 800/1.35 bln/1660 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 909/592.7 mln/2080
3:30 pm : Crude oil fell off its floor session high of $97.96 per barrel and tumbled into the red as sentiment after yesterday's FOMC minutes wore off. The energy component brushed a session low of $95.71 per barrel and eventually settled with a 1.0% loss at $96.23 per barrel.
Natural gas began pit trade in positive territory but quickly fell below the break-even line. It extended its losses following weaker-than-anticipated inventory data that showed a build of 47 bcf when a build of 40 bcf was expected. Natural gas fell 9 cents to a session low of $2.68 per MMBtu and spent the remainder of its session working to erase the loss. It ultimately settled 0.7% lower at $2.81 per MMBtu.
Precious metals were up sharply in today's pit trade as they extended their overnight gains following the FOMC minutes. Gold climbed up to a floor session of $1677.50 per ounce, a level not seen since April, and eventually settled with a 1.9% gain at $1672.20 per ounce.
Silver pulled-back slightly after brushing a session high of $30.79 per ounce but still booked a gain of 3.1% as it closed at $30.45 per ounce.DJ30 -111.80 NASDAQ -16.25 SP500 -10.43 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 835/1119.6 mln/1595 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 953/388 mln/2013
4:31PM Qualcomm acquires small cell pioneer DesignArt Networks (QCOM) 62.05 -0.12 : Co announced it has acquired DesignArt Networks, a leader in small cell modem and system design for cellular base stations and high-speed wireless backhaul infrastructure.
4:27PM Autodesk drops more than 20% upon resumption of trading, currently around 28.50 (ADSK) 35.71 +0.22 : See 16:09 for earnings/guidance details.
4:09PM Autodesk misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides below consensus (ADSK) 35.71 +0.22 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.48 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.49; revenues rose 4.2% year/year to $569 mln vs the $593.63 mln consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.40-0.45 vs. $0.50 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $550-570 mln vs. $602.08 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Net revenue for fiscal 2013 is now expected to increase by 4-6% compared to fiscal 2012 (consensus calls for 9.8% rev growth). Autodesk now anticipates fiscal 2013 GAAP operating margin to decrease by approximately 210 basis points and non-GAAP operating margin to increase by approximately 150 basis points compared to fiscal 2012.
"Our own execution challenges, combined with an uneven global economy, resulted in disappointing revenue results for the quarter... Organizational changes we made within the company earlier this year slowed us down during the quarter." ADSK is halted; set to resume at 16:25 ET.
2:26PM Hewlett-Packard drops to new session low, near its eight year lows from early Aug (HPQ) 17.62 -1.58 : The stock has been hammered in the wake of earning/negative commentary with it recently setting a new session low of 17.60, its eight year close/intraday lows from early this month are at 17.55/17.41.
HP (HPQ) announced that the U.S. Air Force has selected HP to provide business PCs and workstations as part of its enterprise IT purchase program.
Marvell (MRVL) announced its selection by the Wi-Fi Alliance for the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED TDLS test bed program.
O2Micro International (OIIM) was issued 20 claims under a U.S. patent for its Battery Pre-Charging System and Method.
10:43 am S&P Information Technology shares fall and underperform the broader market
The tech sector is trading lower today, trailing losses in the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative weakness as well with the SOX trading 0.7% lower. Within the chip index, INTC (-2.5%) is a notable laggard. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.5% lower today, while the QQQ is down 0.6% and the NASDAQ is trading 0.5% lower on the session. Among tech bellwethers, FB (-1.9%) is showing strength, while the aformentioned INTC (-2.5%) is the notable laggard.
In tech earnings, HPQ (+6.5%) reported Q3 EPS in-line with the slight upside preannouncment, missed on revs, and lowered FY12 EPS slightly, in-line. In tech news last night, RMBS (+0.2%) announced a restructuring program. Among rumors, ACOM (+0.8%) is looking for higher bids from two PE firms, according to reports. There were no notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space. In downgrades, ADTN (-7.5%) was downgraded to Underperform at Credit Suisse. ADSK (+0.9%) and CRM (-0.2%) are the only notable name in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close.
Chinese search engine provider Baidu (BIDU 115.09, -7.71) slid 6.3% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares from ‘buy' to ‘hold.' The stock has been slumping all week and is now down nearly 15.0% since Monday. The company has recently been locked in a battle with Qihoo 360 Technology (QIHU 23.35, -1.23) after Qihoo stopped featuring Baidu as the main search provider in their browsers.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ $18.10 -1.10) reported third quarter earnings of $1.00 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the consensus of $0.98 an in-line with guidance from Aug 8 of approximately $1.00, while revenues fell 4.9% year/year to $29.67 billion versus the $30.19 billion consensus. The company issued in-line guidance for fiscal year 2012 with lowered EPS EPS to $4.05-4.07, excluding non-recurring items, from $4.05-4.10 versus $4.06 consensus. Personal Systems Group revenue was down 10% YoY with a 4.7% operating margin. Commercial revenue decreased 9%, and Consumer revenue declined 12%. Desktop units were down 6%, notebook units were down 12% and total units were down 10%. Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) revenue declined 3% YoY with a 15.8% operating margin. Commercial hardware revenue and units were up 4% YoY. Consumer hardware revenue was down 13% YoY with a 23% decline in printer units. Services revenue declined 3% YoY with an 11.0% operating margin. Technology Services revenue was down 1% YoY, Application and Business Services revenue was flat, and IT Outsourcing revenue declined 6% YoY. Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking (ESSN) revenue declined 4% YoY with a 10.9% operating margin. Networking revenue was up 6%, Industry Standard Servers revenue was down 3%, Business Critical Systems revenue was down 16%, and Storage revenue was down 5% YoY. Software revenue grew 18% YoY with an 18.0% operating margin, including the results of Autonomy. Software revenue was driven by 2% license growth, 16% support growth, and 65% growth in services. HP Financial Services revenue was flat YoY as the 2% increase in net portfolio assets was offset by a 2% decrease in financing volume. The business delivered a 10.4% operating margin.
Synopsys (SNPS $33.94 +2.29) reported third quarter earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.50, while revenues rose 14.7% year/year to $443.7 million versus the $443.97 million consensus. The company issued mixed guidance for the fourth quarter with EPS of $0.46-0.48, excluding non-recurring items, versus the $0.48 consensus and revenues of $440-448 million versus $451.36 million consensus. The company issued mixed guidance for fiscal year 2012 with EPS of $2.09-2.11, excluding non-recurring items, versus the $2.07 consensus and revenues of $1.742-1.750 billion versus the $1.75 billion consensus.
Rambus (RMBS $4.76 +0.00) announced a restructuring. With this restructuring and related cost saving measures, Rambus expects an overall net cash savings of $30-$35 million annually. The majority of the reduction in expenses are being made in general and administrative (G&A), while the company continues to invest in strategic businesses. "After reviewing our expenses in detail, we have concluded that the support infrastructure can be reduced to improve profitability," said Dr. Ronald Black, Rambus chief executive officer. "While we have refined some of our R&D investments, we are preserving all of our strategic initiatives as we believe they will drive significant growth in the future." The reductions in expense and associated workforce will begin in the coming weeks and are expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2012. As a result of this action, the company will reduce its workforce by approximately 15%. Satish Rishi, Rambus chief financial officer, stated: "We expect to take a charge for severance, on a cash basis, of approximately $6 million over the next two quarters. We are also reviewing our assets, businesses, and other contractual obligations and may take additional charges by the end of the year. Excluding these charges, and including additional investment in strategic initiatives, we expect significant net cash savings of approximately $30-$35 million annually."
eBay (EBAY $47.37 +0.37) target was increased to $56 from $48-$50 at Telsey Advisory Group. Telsey is encouraged by the announcement, which significantly expands PayPal's distribution for its offline payment efforts. As with PayPal's other offline efforts, retailers will not be required to purchase additional hardware, which should positively impact adoption, in its view. The company has done an impressive job, in its view, building a network of retailers for its offline payments efforts. The next step will be increasing adoption; which, while challenging, we have a high degree of confidence that PayPal will succeed in that effort, too.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
