3:42 pm GenCorp's Aerojet Rocketdyne was selected by NASA unit to start negotiations for contract to design/demonstrate system that would enable human spaceflight to cislunar space and Mars (GY) : Under the first phase of the contract, Aerojet Rocketdyne would complete the development of a 100-kilowatt Hall Thruster System, including its patented 250kW multi-channel Nested Hall Thruster (:NHT), a 100-kilowatt modular Power Processing Unit (:PPU), and critical elements of the modular feed system. PPUs convert the electrical power generated by a spacecraft's solar arrays into the power needed for the Hall Thruster. The contract includes options for system integration testing, and culminates with a 100-hour test of the 100-kilowatt system.

3:35 pm Houston American Energy announces that a final settlement has been agreed upon in the civil cease-and-desist proceeding previously instituted by the SEC against the company and John F. Terwilliger (shares halted) (HUSA) : Pursuant to the settlement, the company and Mr. Terwilliger, without admitting or denying wrongdoing, agreed that (i) each would cease and desist from committing or causing any violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder; (ii) the company would pay a civil monetary penalty in the amount of $400,000; (iii) Mr. Terwilliger would pay a civil monetary penalty in the amount of $150,000; and (iv) Mr. Terwilliger would be prohibited from serving or acting as an officer or director of a public company for a period of five years. In conjunction with the settlement, Mr. Terwilliger has tendered his resignation as an officer and director of Houston American Energy, the company has appointed John P. Boylan as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President and the board has appointed Roy Jageman as a director.

3:34 pm Earnings Calendar (:SUMRX) : Today after the close look for the following companies to report:

• CVTI, ALTR, COF, CYN, DGII, ETFC, FII, HBHC, KLAC, MSCC, MXIM, RMD, SBUX, SIVB, MSFT, ETH, FSL, JNPR, GHL, SHOR, ALGN, AMZN, BCR, CB, CPHD, EFII, ELY, FCB, FICO, GIMO, GOOG, HA, HBI, LSTR, MCRL, MTX, N, NBHC, PFG, RHI, SFG, SYNA, UIS, RGA, HUBG, SYA, DV, MXWL, NTGR, P, SPSC, SRCL, SSD, TBI, VRSN, MKTO, FET, QDEL, TSO, KN, MTSN, QLIK, RSG, VCRA, PEB, PGI, BGS, BJRI, TRN, ACTG, BAS, BLDR, FR, NEM, SPNC, WIRE, WRE, AWAY, CBI, HWAY, MMSI, SBAC, SWN

Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report:

• INFY, BGG, NPBC, FNFG, PB, STT, AAL, AOS, AVX, BIIB, IMGN, LEA, OFG, PFS, SPG, TYC, XRX, AJG, IMS, LYB, AZN, AAN, FLIR, DTE, IPG, VTR, B, COG, SHOO, EHTH

3:29 pm Endeavour Silver amends stock option plan in response to proxy advisory agencies comments (EXK) : Endeavour proposes to amend sections of the stock option plan by including the following: Non-Employee Director Participation (a) Limit the number of shares that may be issuable to directors who are non-employee directors, which when combined with all of the other share compensation arrangements currently in effect for their benefit to a maximum of 1% of the outstanding common share capital of the Company; provided as well that common shares issuable under options and other share compensation arrangements currently in effect which have been granted to: (i) any director who was non-independent at the time of grant of options but who subsequently became a non-employee director; and (ii) any director who was a non-employee director at the time of grant of options but subsequently becomes a non-independent director; shall be excluded from the calculation of 1% of the outstanding common share capital of the Company issuable under the stock option plan; and (b) Limit the aggregate annual value of options that may be granted to each non-employee director under the stock option plan and any other security-based compensation arrangements established or maintained by the Company to a maximum of $100,000 per non-employee director per calendar year.

3:18 pm Dow +91 joins S&P +12 and Nasdaq Comp +37 at new session highs (:TECHX) : S&P able to set a new all time high (2120.49).

3:14 pm Minor new session highs for S&P +11 at 2119.47 leaving it just below its Feb/record high at 2119.59 (:TECHX) :  

3:05 pm Sphere 3D +13.5% after announcing that in collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT), it will showcase its technologies and product solutions during a joint global partner roadshow (ANY) :  

3:02 pm Consumer Portfolio Serv. announces $100 million credit facility (CPSS) : The co announced that on April 17, 2015 it entered into a new two-year revolving credit agreement with Fortress Credit Co LLC. The new agreement replaces a revolving credit agreement that CPS has used since December 2010, in which Fortress was a lead agent and lender.

2:45 pm INC Research Holdings announces strategic collaboration with DrugDev (INCR) : Co announced a strategic collaboration with DrugDev to drive increased efficiencies in clinical trials through enhanced access to and management of critical investigator and site data. Under the agreement, INC Research becomes the first CRO to complete integration with and implementation of DrugDev's SiteCloud platform.

2:08 pm Correction: Steel Dynamics did not update financial developments (STLD) : Co reported on Monday afternoon; our prior comment has been removed.

2:02 pm Teva Pharma and Active Biotech announce that the first patient has been enrolled in their Phase II study of Laquinimod to treat primary progressive multiple sclerosis (TEVA) : Additional details on the study design will be presented at the AAN Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, April 23, 2015

1:58 pm CACI Intl has been selected as a prime contractor to provide intelligence support to the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command on the Global Intelligence Support Services contract (CACI) : This five-year multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (:IDIQ) contract has a ceiling value of $5.2 billion.

1:55 pm Macerich: Orange/L&B shareholder group send open statement to Board, alleging 'Macerich is continuing its pattern of trampling on the rights of shareholders' (MAC) : Statement highlights included:

• "Orange Capital and Land & Buildings which together have formed an investment group to advocate for change at The Macerich Company. Based on our conversations with a substantial number of large shareholders of the Company, we believe shareholders overwhelmingly support our pro-shareholder agenda and that Macerich should: 
• Immediately end litigation with L&B and allow shareholders to vote for an alternative slate of directors at the upcoming annual meeting and  
  
• Create a special committee, comprised of a majority of newly elected or appointed independent directors, to explore strategic alternatives and maximize shareholder value, including engagement with Simon Property Group"
  

1:38 pm First Financial Northwest announces Board authorization for a ~1.49 mln share repurchase program, to continue through October, 2015 (FFNW) :  

1:24 pm Nasdaq 100 / Comp +27 notch new session highs, Dow +79 and S&P +9.8 still range trading mildly under their highs (:TECHX) :  

1:20 pm Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting announces extensive, multi-year licensing agreement with Hulu (TWX) : Turner Broadcasting System and Hulu announced an extensive, multi-year licensing agreement that will grant Hulu the exclusive SVOD rights to previous seasons of Turner's popular programming from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim as well as select current and upcoming series from TNT and TBS. The deal marks the first-ever licensing agreement between Turner Broadcasting and Hulu.

• Through the agreement, Hulu obtains exclusive SVOD rights to certain future series that will launch on TNT, TBS, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network over the coming years - including TBS's upcoming series Angie Tribeca, which will be available to stream exclusively on Hulu after its full-season run on TBS.
  

1:13 pm Notable movers of interest (:SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume). 

Large Cap Gainers

• ORLY (228.77 +5.58%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.13, beat on revs; guided Q2 EPS below consensus; guided FY15 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; Price tgt raised to $240 from $210 at Credit Suisse.
• CTXS (67.97 +4.94%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.01, reported revs in-line; guided Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guided FY15 EPS in-line, revs below consensus; Price tgt raised at FBR Capital, Mizuho, UBS, others.
• T (34.28 +4.32%): Reported Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.63 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.66; revenues rose 0.3% year/year to $32.58 bln vs the $33.16 bln consensus; Expects DirecTV (DTV) deal to close in the qtr.

Large Cap Losers

• ERIC (11.75 -7.52%): Reported Q1 (Mar) earnings of SEK0.77 per share, SEK0.35 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of SEK1.12; revenues rose 12.6% year/year to SEK53.5 bln vs the SEK53.59 bln consensus.
• TXN (54.47 -7.25%): Missed Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.01, missed on revs; guided Q2 EPS and rev below consensus; Downgraded at Bank of America.
• AMP (127.02 -3.49%): Reported Q1 (Mar) earnings of $2.18 per share, $0.15 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.33; revenues rose 1.9% year/year to $3.05 bln vs the $3.02 bln consensus.

Mid Cap Gainers

• ARRS (36.88 +20.76%): Announced it will acquire Pace plc for $2.1 bln in stock and cash; expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS in first 12 months; Price tgt raised at Brean Capital & RBC Capital Mkts.
• MDSO (56.72 +19.01%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.02, beat on revs; guided FY15 in-line; announced new CFO.
• SKX (85.68 +12.97%): Reported Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.10 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.01; revenues rose 40.5% year/year to $768 mln vs the $702.89 mln consensus; Upgraded at B. Riley & Co and Buckingham Research.

Mid Cap Losers

• HNI (51.9 -9.86%): Missed Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.01, missed on revs; guided Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; raised low end of FY15 EPS guidance.
• PHM (19.97 -7.93%): Reported Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.20; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $1.13 bln vs the $1.25 bln consensus.
• WBC (124.82 -6.3%): Missed Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.02, missed on revs; guided FY15 EPS below consensus.

1:07 pm Infinity Prpty & Casualty announces that CFO Roger Smith plans to retire in August of this year, and a formal search for his replacement is underway (IPCC) :  

1:00 pm Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs Asset Management to acquire Pacific Global Advisors solutions business with total assets under supervision of over $18 billion as of March 31, 2015 (GS) : The Investment Management Division's investment outsourcing solutions business currently represents $57 billion of assets under supervision as of March 31, 2015, across a diverse set of clients globally.

12:56 pm Midday Market Summary: Energy Sector Leads (:WRAPX) : The major averages hold modest midday gains after spiking off their lows during the past hour. The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 are all up near 0.5% at this juncture.

Equity indices spent the first two hours of the session near their flat lines, all but ignoring disappointing PMI readings from China, Japan, and the Eurozone. Furthermore, the New Home Sales report for March (481K; Briefing.com consensus 520K) missed expectations while many quarterly reports from large companies disappointed on the revenue front. That being said, the macro weakness implied by the data and soft consumer demand evidenced by the lack of sales growth could be viewed as an argument in favor of maintaining easy monetary policy for longer.

With that narrative in mind, the major averages were able to extend their weekly gains with the Nasdaq Composite overtaking its record closing high of 5,048.62 that was registered on March 10, 2000. Large cap index components like Apple (AAPL 129.70, +1.08), Google (GOOGL 557.63, +8.45), and Microsoft (MSFT 43.46, +0.48) fueled the move while high-beta chipmakers lag with the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 1.6% following disappointing results and cautious guidance from Texas Instruments (TXN 54.45, -4.28). For its part, the broader technology sector (+0.4%) trades just behind the broader market.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, the energy space (+1.2%) leads with help from crude oil, which has jumped 3.3% to $57.99/bbl. The energy component has been supported by dollar weakness that has the Dollar Index (97.30, -0.64) trading lower by 0.7%.  

Moving on, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.7%) represents the only other outperformer on the cyclical side. Apparel names have shown relative strength following upbeat results from Skechers (SKX 85.71, +9.87) while homebuilders have headed in the opposite direction after PulteGroup (PHM 20.18, -1.51) missed earnings and revenue estimates. Shares of PHM are lower by 6.9% while the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 26.90, -0.54) has surrendered 2.0%.

Treasuries hold modest gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 1.96%.

Economic data included Initial Claims and New Home Sales:

• The initial claims level increased to 295,000 for the week ending April 18 from an unrevised 294,000 for the week ending April 11 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decline to 288,000 
  • According to the Department of Labor, there were no special factors that impacted this week's claims reading 
  • The four-week moving average inched up to 285,000 from 283,000 
  • Continuing Claims rose to 2.325 million from 2.275 million 
• New home sales declined 11.4% in March to 481,000 from an upwardly revised 543,000 (from 539,000) in February while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decline to 520,000 
  • From January 2013 through November 2014, new home sales averaged about 430,000 per month with little volatility. December 2014 was a turning point that saw sales near 500,000 for the first time since May 2008.

12:56 pm MAG Silver reports new exploration results from its Valdecanas Vein on the Minera Juanicipio joint venture property; intercepts show positive calc-silicate alteration around veins and significant copper values for entire area (MVG) : Co reported that four new exploration step-out holes were targeted approximately 100 metres below the existing "Deep Zone" Indicated and Inferred Resources. The four holes were drilled on 150 metre centres over a strike length of approximately 500 metres below the en echelon overlap zone between the East and West Valdecanas Veins.

• Co announced that intercepts widen progressively up to 32.09 metres towards the east in the central portion of the property, significantly extending the widening Deep Zone to depth. 
• The intercepts also show significant amounts of calc-silicate (skarn) alteration in and around the veins and the first significant copper values for the entire area; both indications of higher temperature mineralization conditions. The high silver and gold in Holes P2 and P3 coincide with zones of overprinted quartz veins. Results showed: 
• 405 g/t  Silver-Capped -  2.7 g/t Gold-Capped - 3.2% Lead - 4.1% Zinc - 0.37% Copper over 34.35 m

12:55 pm Art's-Way Manufacturing announces Marc McConnell has been elected as Chairman of the Board (ARTW) : McConnell has served on the Board of Directors of Art's Way Manufacturing since 2001 and as Vice-Chairman since 2008.

12:42 pm S&P +10 notches new high of 2118.85, its Feb/all time high is at 2119.59 (SPY) :  

12:39 pm Dow +70 finally sets new high for the week at 18113 but remains under the April high from last week at 18169 (:TECHX) : It all time close/intraday high from early March is at 18288. 

12:32 pm Minor new session high for Nasdaq Comp +14, Dow +46 and S&P +6.3 are hovering just below (:TECHX) :  

12:32 pm Inventure Foods announces a issues voluntary recall of its Fresh Frozen vegetables and certain Jamba (JMBA) smoothie kits upon finding Listeria in a Georgia facility (shares halted) (SNAK) : Co announced it found Listeria monocytogenes, in its Jefferson, GA facility. Co noted that to date, there are no known illnesses linked to consumption of Fresh Frozen IQF frozen vegetables or Jamba "At Home" smoothies.

12:25 pm Misonix announces study data at the 2015 National American Burn Association Meeting, indicating reduced occurrence of sharps injury when utilizing ultrasound debridement (MSON) :  

12:17 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (156) outpacing new lows (46) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAON, AAXJ, ABT, ACWI, ADPT, ADS, AFT, AHL, AKAM, AMAG, AMCN, ANW, APB, APTS, ARIA, ARRS, ASR, AWH, AYR, BBNK, BCV, BK, BLKB, BMI, BRKL, BSX, CAMB, CATY, CFNL, CHMT, CHU, CLGX, CNMD, CO, COLB, COWN, CSFL, CSL, DCM, DIS, DNKN, DNP, DPLO, DPZ, DRC, DST, DTSI, DTV, DVA, EBS, ECF, EEFT, EFX, EMJ, ENI, ENZN, EQIX, ERI, ETFC, EXPO, EXPR, FFA, FLT, FLTX, GPIC, HALO, HAR, HMN, HOFT, HOLX, HRC, IGTE, IMAX, INSY, INTU, IVC, KEN, KMG, KMI, KYO, LAMR, LO, LOAN, LVNTA, LXU, LYTS, MACK, MASI, MCO, MDSO, MIFI, MRGE, MTG, NEU, NJ, NOAH, NORD, NPD, NRZ, NTRS, NTT, NTWK, NVEE, NVS, NWFL, OMAB, ONEQ, ORLY, PANW, PBHC, PETS, PMC, PMD, PNQI, POOL, PTSI, QCRH, QQEW, QQXT, QTM, R, RAI, RDN, RGEN, RIGL, ROL, RTIX, RVBD, RWC, SCI, SCSS, SEIC, SKX, SKYY, SLM, SNA, SORL, STJ, SUNE, SWK, SYA, TFX, TSCO, TTHI, TYL, TYPE, UEC, UNB, USNA, VASC, VIMC, WAL, WOOF, WUBA, WVVI, ZIXI

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ADTN, AI, AIXG, AKAO, AXE, BAGR, BTU, CENX, CFNB, CHEK, CIDM, CPAC, CPTA, CRD.A, DEST, EMMS, ESIO, FNJN, FPO, GLRI, HELI, ITEK, IVAC, MICT, MOBL, NGD, NURO, NVTA, PANL, PDII, PERF, PFBX, PNX, PRGN, PRTS, RCAP, RLJE, RXII, SIF, SPDC, SQQQ, STEM, VMI, VRS, WOWO, WPCS

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: FDN, IGV, IHI, SKYY, TAN

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: VXX

12:14 pm Schlumberger hovering mildly under its session high and 200 day sma at 93.94/93.92 (SLB) : Its five month high from last week come into play at 94.89.

12:06 pm American Superconductor announces an update on its Sinovel litigation, expecting the first substantive hearing in Beijing court on May 11, 2015 (AMSC) : Co announced that the first substantive hearing of the $450 million trade secret case is expected to be heard in the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on or about May 11, 2015. Additionally, co announced that its $6 million software copyright infringement case was dismissed by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. Co announced it will immediately appeal the case

11:58 am Nasdaq Comp +12 tests its all time close high from 2000 at 5048.62 -- session high 5049.34 (:TECHX) : The all time intraday high is at 5132.52. 

11:55 am S&P +6.8 sets minor new session/monthly high of 2114 to test its March recovery high (:TECHX) : Note that its record close/intraday highs are at 2117/2119. 

11:52 am S&P +1.1 edging up toward Tues-Thur highs between 2109.64 and 2109.98 (SPY) :  

11:51 am European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:+0.4%
• Germany's DAX:-1.2%
• France's CAC:-0.6%
• Spain's IBEX:+0.1%
• Portugal's PSI:-0.5%
• Italy's MIB Index:-0.5%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-0.4%
• Greece ASE General Index: +2.4%

11:35 am Currency Commentary: Global PMIs Miss the Mark (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index has been offered for most of the morning. A steady round of disappointing data (Claims, Markit PMI, New Home Sales) have all provided some weight to the greenback. The DXY is now preparing to test its 50 sma (97.40) which it tested and held on April 6. The volatile Durable Orders numbers are due out tomorrow at 8:30am and are arguably the most influential economic data point for the week. 
• The euro has been pushing higher to test the 1.08. The move is a little surprising given the broad miss across the board with regards to Manufacturing and Services PMI surveys. There have been a number of headlines with regards to Greece's Tsipras talking with Germany's Merkel in regards to a partial deal for short term funding. It is unlikely that Merkel would agree to this action and probably more unlikely that the single currency is moving in response to these headlines. This appears to be more of the euro continuing on its recent upward trend in the face of some seller exhaustion.
• The pound is attempting to climb above its 50 sma and is showing its first sustained move above 1.50 for the first time in six weeks. The move comes despite a large miss in retail sales. 
• The yen was testing 120 support in early trade but has been able to move higher over the early trading session. Japan also missed its PMI expectations. Weak economic data has been the key theme early on and that is leading to some safe haven bids here in the yen. The yen is now trading at 119.61 (BONDX, FOREX).
  

11:30 am Agrium announces that it intends to divest the West Sacramento product upgrade facility and site in 2015 (AGU) : The site has access to tidewater and imports the raw materials to produce UAN solutions for the California market. Over the past two years, the site has produced on average about 200,000 tonnes of nitrogen solution products. The decision to divest the site was made as part of Agrium's portfolio review and any impact on financials are expected to be negligible.

11:22 am Sanderson Farms maintains $0.22/share quarterly dividend, extends stock repurchase plan (SAFM) : The Company announced that its Board of Directors has expanded and extended to April 23, 2018, its stock repurchase program to repurchase up to 1.0 million shares of the Company's common stock from time to time at prevailing prices in open market transactions or in negotiated purchases, subject to market conditions, share price and other considerations. Today's action extended the program to April 23, 2018, and increased the number of shares that may be repurchased under the program by an additional 700,003 shares, returning the total number of shares remaining to be repurchased under the program to 1.0 million shares.

11:03 am Sempra Energy acquires the 78 MW Black Oak Getty wind project in Minnesota from Geronimo Energy; financial terms not disclosed (SRE) :  

11:02 am Violin Memory announces Amy Love as its new Chief Marketing Officer (VMEM) : Before joining Violin Memory, Amy served as a partner for BizEthos, a consulting firm for Silicon Valley start-ups.

11:01 am Northrop Grumman announces a $2 mln agreement to supply Raytheon (RTN) with its LN-200 Inertial Measurement Unit through 2018 (NOC) :  

11:00 am Johnson & Johnson increases quarterly dividend 7.1% to $0.75 from $0.70 per share (JNJ) :  

10:26 am RegeneRx Biopharma receives Notice of Allowance from the USPTO for its patent application claiming the administration of Thymosin beta 4 to treat cardiac tissue to heal and reverse heart and coronary vessel damage due to a heart attack (RGRX) :  

10:26 am S&P -2.2 another test another stall at its Feb - March trendline April high resistance zone at 2109/2111 (SPY) : For the third session in a row the S&P has reached 2109 and paused. Sectors that underperform this morning include: Home Const ITB, Casino, Semi SMH/XSD, Auto, Rail, Reg Bank KRE, Bank KBE, Social Media SOCL. First level support, which was probed off the open, is at 2102/2100.

10:03 am Prudential unit Prudential Real Estate Investors acquires a a majority interest in the joint venture Munich Siemens Campus; financial terms not disclosed (PRU) : The office and research campus, a 425,390 square meter site located in Neuperlach Sued in southeast Munich, comprises 371,671 square meters of rental space across 37 buildings, parking facilities and open land.

9:57 am Major averages edge to new bounce highs after early hold at support -- Dow -28, s&P -0.6, Nasdaq Comp -1.3 (:TECHX) :  

9:46 am Sector Watch (:TECHX) : Early relative sector strength has developed in: Steel SLX, Oil Service OIH, Crude Oil USO, Solar TAN, Energy XLE, Retail XRT, Gold Miners GDX. Weaker groups include: Home Const ITB, Semi SMH, Casino, Rail, Auto, Reg Bank KRE, Transports IYT, Bank KBE.

9:42 am Trinseo announces pricing of its $700 mln senior note issuances due 2022, with $300 mln at 6.750% and EUR $375 mln at 6.375% (TSE) : The net proceeds from the Notes offering, together with approximately $500 million of term loan borrowings expected to be available under the Issuers' new senior secured credit facility and available cash, will be used to repay all outstanding indebtedness under the Issuers' 8.750% Senior Secured Notes due 2019.

9:39 am Opening Market Summary: Stocks Slip in the Early Going (:WRAPX) : As expected, the major averages began the day under modest pressure. The S&P 500 trades lower by 0.1% with five sectors showing early losses.

Heavily-weighted technology (-0.4%), health care (-0.3%), consumer staples (-0.4%), and industrials (-0.4%) are among the early laggards while energy (+0.6%) outperforms with crude oil trading higher by 1.3% at $56.89/bbl.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have erased their overnight gains, returning the 10-yr yield to unchanged at 1.98%.

The New Home Sales report for March will be released at 10:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus 520,000).

9:37 am Weaker start for major averages probes first level supports -- Nasdaq Comp -9.8, S&P -3, Dow -53 (:TECHX) : First level supports from The Technical Take have been approached/probed in early trade at 5021/5015 Nasdaq Comp (session low 5019), 2102/21001 S&P (session low 2103) and 17970/17962 Dow (session low 17966).

9:33 am Citrix Systems edges slightly above last week's high at 65.94 in opening action (CTXS) :  

9:30 am Gray Television acquires WAGM-TV in Maine for $10.25 mln in cash; acquisition will be immediately free cash flow accretive to Gray (GTN) : Gray expects to finance the transaction with cash on hand, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015

9:27 am Magellan Midstream announces an increases in its quarterly distribution to $0.7175/unit from $0.6950/unit (MMP) :  

9:15 am Navios Maritime Partners announces that the MSC Cristina, a container vessel of 13,100 TEU was delivered to Navios Partners' owned fleet (NMM) : The MSC Cristina has been chartered out to a high quality counterparty for 12 years at a rate of $60,275 net per day, with Navios Partners' option to terminate after year seven. The vessel is expected to generate approximately $18.4 million of annual EBITDA and approximately $217.8 million of aggregate EBITDA for the charter period, assuming operating expenses approximating current operating costs and 360 revenue days. Following the delivery of the MSC Cristina, Navios Partners has 31 vessels in the water.

9:13 am BNY Mellon announces an underwritten public offering of depositary shares, each representing a 1/100th interest in a share of its Series E Noncumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, with a liquidation preference of $100k per share (BK) : The Company intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the depositary shares to repurchase up to $700 million of its common stock, with a proportionate reduction in common stock repurchases if less than $1 billion of depositary shares is issued. The Company expects to use any remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

9:10 am S&P futures vs fair value: -6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.10. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a modestly lower open as futures on the S&P 500 trade six points below fair value. In fact, futures have spent the entire night in the red following disappointing Flash PMI readings from China (49.2; expected 49.6) and Japan (49.7; expected 50.8), and notched their lows after major European economies also disappointed on the PMI front.

Meanwhile, quarterly earnings reported since yesterday's closing bell have been mixed with many large names reporting year-over-year declines in revenue. To that point, Dow components 3M (MMM 159.70, -4.97), Caterpillar (CAT 87.37, +2.50), and Procter & Gamble (PG 81.50, -0.93) saw their revenues contract while bottom-line results were mixed. Procter & Gamble reported in-line; Caterpillar beat and raised its guidance; and 3M missed estimates.

Economic data reported this morning was limited to weekly Initial Claims, which increased to 295,000 from 294,000. Today's final data point-New Home Sales for March-will be released at 10:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus 520,000).

Treasuries hold slim gains after sliding from their overnight highs. The 10-yr yield is lower by a basis point at 1.97%.

9:07 am Nucor beats by $0.07, misses on revs (NUE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14 and it was above March 19 guidance of $0.10-0.15; revenues fell 13.9% year/year to $4.40 bln vs the $4.66 bln consensus.

• "As expected, overall operating performance at the steel mills segment for [Q1] decreased significantly compared to [Q4]. This lower performance is primarily due to lower selling prices and margins resulting from the exceptionally high level of steel imports flooding the domestic market. It is estimated that imports accounted for 33% of the finished steel market in [Q1]."
• Earnings in Q2 are expected to be somewhat improved from Q1. Although margins in the steel mills segment are expected to improve, they will remain under pressure in Q2 as selling prices have not yet fully stabilized and imports remain at exceptionally high levels. This pricing pressure is expected to mitigate the benefits of lower average raw materials costs in Q2. Co expects much better performance in the downstream products segment in Q2.

9:05 am Old Republic beats by $0.08, misses on revs (ORI) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.24; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $1.31 bln vs the $1.33 bln consensus. Net income for the first three months of 2015 was much lower when compared to the same period last year which benefitted from substantially greater realized gains from sales of securities.

9:03 am Veracyte has entered into a definitive agreement to sell ~$40 mln of its common stock in a private placement (VCYT) : Under the agreement, the investors will purchase an aggregate of 4,907,975 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $8.15 per share, the closing stock price on April 22, 2015. Veracyte intends to use the net proceeds from the placement to fund research and development, for product commercialization, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Veracyte had $25.8 million in cash at March 31, 2015.

9:03 am Ramco-Gershenson announces appointment of John Hendrickson as new COO, effective on May 17, 2015 (RPT) : Hendrickson was most recently  the Regional COO in charge of Federal Realty Trust's (FRT) Northeast Region and head of Federal's East Coast Mixed-Use Division

9:02 am DuPont subsidiary Chemours Company announces launch of $2.125 bln senior unsecured dollar-denominated Notes and 350 mln of senior unsecured Euro-denominated Notes (DD) :  

9:02 am Ultragenyx Pharma granted additional orphan drug designations for Triheptanoin (RARE) : Co announces the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development has granted orphan drug designation for triheptanoin for the treatment of fatty acid oxidation disorders, and the European Commission has granted orphan medicinal product designation for the treatment of glucose transporter type-1 deficiency syndrome.

9:02 am Ultratech beats by $0.11, beats on revs (UTEK) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.17); revenues rose 32.6% year/year to $41.9 mln vs the $38.88 mln consensus.

9:01 am Sanofi-Aventis: Effect of Genzyme's multiple sclerosis treatment Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) on slowing brain atrophy and MRI lesion activity maintained through four years (SNY) : Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced that new magnetic resonance imaging (:MRI) data from the Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) clinical development program will be presented today at the 67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting. In relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients treated with Lemtrada in the Phase III pivotal studies, MRI effects observed in the two-year trials were maintained through two additional years in the extension study (years three and four). After the initial two courses of treatment in the pivotal studies, which were given at month zero and at month 12, ~70% of Lemtrada patients did not receive additional Lemtrada treatment during the following three years, through month 48.

9:01 am NetSuite acquires commerce marketing company Bronto Software for $200 mln (N) : NetSuite plans to discuss the expected future impact of the acquisition as part of its first quarter 2015 financial results conference call to be held today at 5 ET.

9:01 am Teva Pharma announces 3 year data from its GALA study of COPAXONE, showing the adjusted mean annualized relapse rate was significantly lower for ES over 36 months (TEVA) : The study compared early start  patients who received three-times-a-week COPAXONE 40 mg/mL for 36 months versus delayed start  patients, who started COPAXONE after the 12-month placebo-controlled phase of the trial. The data show the adjusted mean annualized relapse rate was significantly lower for ES over 36 months.

• In addition, early treatment with three-times-a-week COPAXONE 40 mg/mL resulted in a sustained reduction in lesion activity and the evolution of active lesions to chronic black holes. Adverse events observed in the trial were consistent with the established COPAXONE 40 mg/mL safety profile.
  

9:01 am Sysorex Global awarded CIO-CS contract (SYRX) : Co's Lilien Systems division has been selected as one of the 65 Prime Contract Holders under the Chief Information Officer -- Commodities and Solutions (CIO-CS) contract by National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center.

8:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -6.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -19.60. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade seven points below fair value.

It was a mixed showing from markets in the Asia-Pacific region on Thursday following the weaker-than-expected HSBC PMI report for China, which showed manufacturing activity slipping to a one-year low. That didn't deter the Shanghai Composite, though, as it jumped another 0.4%. Taiwan (+1.9%) was the big winner on Thursday, benefiting from speculation about the possible implementation of a stock connect program with China like the one Shanghai has with Hong Kong.

• In economic data: 
  • China's Flash April HSBC Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 from 49.6 reported in March (expected 49.6) 
  • Japan's Flash April Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.7 from 50.3 reported in March (expected 50.8) 
  • Hong Kong's March Unemployment Rate held at 3.3%, as expected 
  • Australia's NAB Quarterly Business Confidence fell to 0.0 from 2.0 
  • New Zealand's Credit Card Spending +5.2% year-over-year (prior +5.8%) 
  • Singapore's March CPI -0.3% year-over-year (expected -0.5%; prior -0.3%) 
  • South Korea's Q1 GDP +0.8% quarter-over-quarter (expected +0.7%; prior +0.3%); +2.4% year-over-year (expected +2.4%; prior +2.7%) 

------ 

• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.3% following some weaker than expected manufacturing PMI data, helped by a late-session push that pre-empted a dip into negative territory. The energy (+1.6%), industrial (+0.5%) and consumer cyclical (+0.4%) sectors provided support. Individual standouts included Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (+5.5%), Japan Tobacco (+5.3%), and Nippon Yusen KK (+4.2%). Atop the list of decliners were Yahoo Japan (-4.3%), Eisai Co (-2.9%), and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (-2.0%). Out of the 225 index members, 139 ended higher, 79 finished lower, and 7 were unchanged. 
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.4%, relinquishing strong gains posted in early trading and closed at its low for the session. The consumer cyclical (-1.0%), industrial (-0.7%), and communications (-0.6%) sectors were the main pockets of weakness. Ping An Insurance Co (-3.0%), Sands China (-2.5%), Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (-2.4%), and China Life Insurance Co (-2.3%) topped the list of decliners. Want Want China (+4.8%) led all gainers. Out of the 50 index members, 19 ended higher, 28 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged. 
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.4%, brushing aside the HSBC PMI report that showed manufacturing activity hitting a one-year low in April and remaining in contraction territory. Gains in the basic materials (+4.1%), consumer cyclical (+2.1%), and energy (+1.4%) sectors helped keep Chinese markets aloft.

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-1.3%) leading the decline. European markets displayed gains in the early going as investors responded to a swath of better than expected earnings, but the upbeat start was followed by a retreat in reaction to disappointing PMI readings.

• In economic data: 
  • Eurozone Flash April Manufacturing PMI dropped to 51.9 from 52.2 reported in March (expected 52.6) while Flash Services PMI fell to 53.7 from 54.2 in March (consensus 54.5) 
  • Germany's Flash April Manufacturing PMI fell to 51.9 from 52.8 in March (expected 53.0) while Flash Services PMI dropped to 54.4 from 55.4 in March (consensus 55.5). Separately, May GfK Consumer Climate ticked up to 10.1 from 10.0 (expected 10.2) 
  • UK's March Retail Sales -0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; prior 0.6%); +4.2% year-over-year (consensus 5.4%; last 5.4%). Separately, March Core Retail Sales +0.2% month-over-month (consensus 0.4%; last 0.6%); +5.0% year-over-year (expected 5.4%; prior 4.8%) 
  • French Flash April Manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.4 from 48.8 in March (consensus 49.2) while Flash Services PMI declined to 50.8 from 52.4 in March (expected 52.5)
  • Spain's Q1 Unemployment Rate increased to 23.78% from 23.70% (consensus 23.60%) 
  • Italy reported no month-over-month Wage Inflation in March while the year-over-year reading increased 1.0% 

------

• UK's FTSE trades flat. Utilities outperform with Centrica, SSE, and United Utilities Group up between 1.0% and 1.8%. On the downside, growth-sensitive names lag with Glencore, Weir Group, and Mondi down between 2.6% and 3.1%. 
• France's CAC trades down 0.9% with industrials and financials on the defensive. AXA, Societe Generale, Schneider Electric, and Legrand are down between 1.3% and 2.1% while Michelin has jumped 6.2% after reporting better than expected results. 
• Germany's DAX has given up 1.3% with all 30 components in the red. Munich Re is the weakest performer, down 2.9%, while materials also lag with BASF, K+S, and ThyssenKrupp down between 2.0% and 2.7%.

8:56 am Boise Cascade misses by $0.04, beats on revs (BCC) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.23; revenues rose 5.6% year/year to $809.9 mln vs the $798.09 mln consensus.

• "Wood Products' sales and earnings benefited from strong plywood pricing in the quarter, as well as continued volume growth and improved pricing for our engineered wood products. BMD's gross margins faced the headwinds of a declining price environment for dimension lumber products during the quarter. Forecasts for 2015 reflect further growth in U.S. housing starts, and we remain confident in our ability to take advantage of market opportunities."
  
• "We expect to experience modest demand growth for the products we manufacture and distribute in 2015 and remain optimistic that the overall improvement in demand for our products will continue as housing recovers to historic trend levels. Future commodity product pricing could be volatile in response to industry capacity restarts and operating rates, inventory levels in various distribution channels, and seasonal demand patterns. We expect to manage our production levels to our sales demand, which will likely result in operating some of our facilities below their capacity until demand improves further."

8:55 am Reliance Steel beats by $0.28, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus (RS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.30 per share, $0.28 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.02; revenues rose 2.4% year/year to $2.61 bln vs the $2.59 bln consensus.

• Tons sold were up 0.8% from the first quarter of 2014 and up 5.1% from the fourth quarter of 2014, with the average selling price per ton sold up 0.9% from the first quarter of 2014 and down 3.6% from the fourth quarter of 2014.
• "Pricing for all of our products continued to decline as the quarter progressed, and continues to do so today, primarily due to the historically high levels of imports, resulting in a 3.6% decline in our average selling price per ton sold compared to the prior quarter".

Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.10-1.15 vs. $1.10 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

8:41 am European Markets Update: FTSE UNCH, CAC -0.9%, DAX -1.3% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-1.3%) leading the decline. European markets displayed gains in the early going as investors responded to a swath of better than expected earnings, but the upbeat start was followed by a retreat in reaction to disappointing PMI readings.

• In economic data: 
  • Eurozone Flash April Manufacturing PMI dropped to 51.9 from 52.2 reported in March (expected 52.6) while Flash Services PMI fell to 53.7 from 54.2 in March (consensus 54.5) 
  • Germany's Flash April Manufacturing PMI fell to 51.9 from 52.8 in March (expected 53.0) while Flash Services PMI dropped to 54.4 from 55.4 in March (consensus 55.5). Separately, May GfK Consumer Climate ticked up to 10.1 from 10.0 (expected 10.2) 
  • UK's March Retail Sales -0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; prior 0.6%); +4.2% year-over-year (consensus 5.4%; last 5.4%). Separately, March Core Retail Sales +0.2% month-over-month (consensus 0.4%; last 0.6%); +5.0% year-over-year (expected 5.4%; prior 4.8%) 
  • French Flash April Manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.4 from 48.8 in March (consensus 49.2) while Flash Services PMI declined to 50.8 from 52.4 in March (expected 52.5)
  • Spain's Q1 Unemployment Rate increased to 23.78% from 23.70% (consensus 23.60%) 
  • Italy reported no month-over-month Wage Inflation in March while the year-over-year reading increased 1.0% 

------

• UK's FTSE trades flat. Utilities outperform with Centrica, SSE, and United Utilities Group up between 1.0% and 1.8%. On the downside, growth-sensitive names lag with Glencore, Weir Group, and Mondi down between 2.6% and 3.1%. 
• France's CAC trades down 0.9% with industrials and financials on the defensive. AXA, Societe Generale, Schneider Electric, and Legrand are down between 1.3% and 2.1% while Michelin has jumped 6.2% after reporting better than expected results. 
• Germany's DAX has given up 1.3% with all 30 components in the red. Munich Re is the weakest performer, down 2.9%, while materials also lag with BASF, K+S, and ThyssenKrupp down between 2.0% and 2.7%.

8:38 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: MOBL -33.2%, ( announces CFO resignation to join another company; Will be staying through submission of the 10-Q filing no later than May 4, 2015 ), ERIC -11.9%, TXN -8.4%, PNK -8.4%, SNE -6.7%, (Guided yesterday) PHM -6.4%, WBC -5%, MTH -4.7%, OII -4.5%, LVS -4.1%, PBR -3.4%, XLNX -3.1%, UNP -2.9%, TSO -2.8%, HSY -2.6%, MMM -2.5%, QCOM -2.4%, ZNH -2.3%, FCX -2.3%, UAL -2.1%, ALK -2%, PG -1.9%, FFIV -1.8%, VMI -1.6%, MCRI -1.5%, MO -1.5%, DHR -1.2%, ALXN -1.2%, PENN -1.2%, KNX -0.9%, DGX -0.9%, FISI -0.8%, FB -0.8%, MJN -0.7%, PEP -0.6%, POOL -0.6%, USTR -0.5%, AMP -0.5%, CVBF -0.5%, UFI -0.5%

M&A news: TWC -3.1% (WSJ details news that FCC will hold hearing on Comcast (CMCSA) & Time Warner (TWC) merger)

Other news: NBG -4.2% (cont volatility surrounding Greece default), TNP -4.1% (prices 8.75% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares (was upsized to $85 mln) and will issue 3.4 mln Series D Preferred Shares at $25.00 per share), LOOK -2.9% (slight pull back after yday's advance), WYNN -2.1% (following LVS results), AA -1.6% (reports that China will end taxes on aluminum-alloy & rare earth ores), EC -0.9% (announces that the Supreme Court of the Netherlands has ruled in its favor in the Llanos Oil Exploration), RY -0.6% (filed registration statement for $15 bln offering of covered bonds)

Analyst comments: AIXG -3.9% (downgraded to Neutral at Equinet), OC -2.4% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup), ADTN -1.7% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman), ANGI -1.7% (downgraded to Under Perform from Market Perform at Northland Capital), SWC -1.3% (downgraded to Hold at BB&T Capital Mkts), NE -1.2% (downgraded to Underweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley), TOT -0.8% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank)

8:38 am GATX beats by $0.30, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance; Co sees high demand, however new railcar order activity has slowed, impacted by low crude-prices and impending regulation (GMT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.39 per share, $0.30 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.09; revenues rose 11.5% year/year to $319.7 mln vs the $324.48 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $5.15-5.35 vs. $5.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• "Rail North America's outstanding performance continued in Q1. The renewal rate change of GATX's Lease Price Index was a positive 43.2%, and the average renewal term was 59 months. Fleet utilization exceeded 99% at the end of the quarter, and our renewal success rate was nearly 85%. These favorable results were driven by continued strong demand for most railcar types in our fleet."
  
• "Consistent with our comments at the beginning of 2015, our existing fleet continues to experience high demand, but new railcar order activity has slowed as our customers assess the impact of low crude-oil prices and impending tank car regulations on their business. As these issues clarify in 2015, we can provide better insight into the medium-term effects on our business."
  

8:36 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: DNKN +8.8%, AFOP +7.2%, SKX +6.8%, MKSI +6.1%, CAKE +5.6%, DPZ +5.2%, EBAY +4.7%, ORLY +4.3%, SGMO +4%, ENTR +3.9%, CAT +3.9%, PII +3.7%, IR +3.7%, SWK +3.6%, SCSS +3.2%, CLGX +3.2%, CAM +3%, EQT +2.8%, LOGI +2.7%, NEU +2.1%, SNA +2.1%, NVS +1.9%, CLB +1.8%, ADPT +1.8%, ABBV +1.8%, DOW +1.7%, DAN +1.7%, LUV +1.7%, TYL +1.6%, KKR +1.5%, T +1.2%, BAX +1.1%, BMS +1.1%, RTN +1.1%, JCI +1.1%, EGBN +0.8%, CTXS +0.7%, SLM +0.6%, LLY +0.6%, AEP +0.6%

M&A news: ARRS +19.4% (to Acquire Pace plc for $2.1 Billion in Stock and Cash PRN),CLVS +2.3% (Bloomberg real M&A column discusses that CLVS may be a possible takeover target)

Select oil/gas related names showing strength: USEG +4%, SD +2.7%, SDRL +1.9%, RIG +0.9%

Other news: CYTX +7.3% (announces data two BARDA funded preclinical studies at the 2015 American Burn Association Meeting),NCR +3.9% (WSJ reporting co is exploring strategic options including divestitures, buybacks, or dividend),SCYX +3.9% (prices 4,675,324 shares of its common stock at $7.70 per share),CNAT +3.3% (clinical results at EASL meeting support Emricasan registration pathway in NASH),GWPH +1.7% (announced new physician reports of clinical effect and safety associated with the Epidiolex expanded access program: median 54% reduction in seizures after 12 weeks treatment and maintenance of clinical effect at 24 weeks),TRCO +1.6% (priced secondary offering of ~9.24 mln shares of common stock at $56 per share),YGE +1.6% (agreement ~524K sq meters of land that is not currently in active use, for RMB 588.2 mln),ISIS +1.4% (reports positive data from its ISIS-TTR Rx study to treat patients with TTR Amyloidosis, demonstrating up to a 92% reduction in transthyretin proteins ),CONN +1.3% (Point72 Asset Management discloses 5.0% passive stake in 13G filing ),OCR +0.9% (late higher following reports suggesting company considering sale ),JUNO +0.9% (Juno and AstraZeneca's (AZN) MedImmune announce immuno-oncology clinical trial collaboration)

Analyst comments: SGMO +4% (initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital),QURE +3.7% (initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital),BLUE +1.1% (initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital),RDS.A +0.8% (upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC),ASML +0.8% (upgraded to Hold at Baader Helvea)

8:34 am Deluxe beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY15 EPS in-line, revs in-line (DLX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.02; revenues rose 6.5% year/year to $433.6 mln vs the $429.6 mln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.04-1.09 vs. $1.05 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $424-432 mln vs. $429.9 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $4.40-4.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $1.75-1.78 bln vs. $1.76 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

8:34 am Syntel (halted, will resume at 9:00) misses by $0.19, misses on revs; lowers upper end of FY15 revs, in-line (SYNT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.48 per share, $0.19 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.67; revenues rose 0.5% year/year to $220.6 mln vs the $237.01 mln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, lowers FY15 revs to $985m-1.015 bln from $985m-1.025 bln vs. $1 bln Capital IQ Consensus, based on 62 Rupees to the dollar.

"While the first quarter is typically a seasonally weaker period for us, this Q1 got off to a slower start than usual as some of the projects we are engaged on were slow to ramp," said Syntel CEO and President Nitin Rakesh. "We are maintaining our 2015 outlook for EPS and the lower end of our revenue range as the broader environment remains favorable and our pipelines continue to build. We are optimistic that current market conditions support a continuation of the discretionary spending trends seen last year."

8:34 am Navios Maritime, Navios Maritime Acquisition Corporation (NNA) and Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NMM) have executed a binding letter of intent to acquire 14 vessels from debtors of HSH Nordbank AG through a new JV (NM) : The 14 vessels include seven dry bulkers and seven container vessels with an average age of approximately 4 years. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2015. Navios estimates the purchase price to be paid to HSH will consist of cash and the assumption of a Subordinated HSH Participating Loan described below. It is anticipated that the cash payment will be funded as follows: Senior bank financing of 60% of Fair Market Value of the vessels at closing, secured by a first-priority mortgage on the vessels and $14.0 million, from an investment by Navios JV funded by Navios.

8:33 am M/I Homes beats by $0.19, beats on revs (MHO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.19 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.12; revenues rose 12.1% year/year to $263.2 mln vs the $244.55 mln consensus.

• New contracts for the first quarter were 1,108, a 13% increase from the 982 recorded in 2014's first quarter.
• Homes delivered in the first quarter were 717, a decrease of 3% from the 737 reported for the same period of 2014.
• The backlog of homes at March 31, 2015 had a total sales value of $577 million, a 16% increase over a year-ago, with backlog units of 1,613 and an average sales price of $358,000
  

8:31 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.70. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade six points below fair value.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 295,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 288,000. Today's tally was above the unrevised prior week count of 294,000. As for continuing claims, they rose to 2.325 million from 2.275 million.

8:30 am Market View: Jun. stock-index futures remain modestly below fair values following the 8:30 am ET economic data (:TECHX) :

• ESm5 now trades @ 2095.25 -5.00
  
  
• YMm5 now trades @ 17893 -52
  
  
• NQm5 now trades @ 4436.00 -9.25

8:25 am Southwest Air beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (LUV) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.66 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.65; revenues rose 6.0% year/year to $4.41 bln vs the $4.41 bln consensus. 

• Customer demand was strong throughout first quarter 2015, resulting in a record first quarter load factor of 80.1 percent. As expected, first quarter 2015 passenger revenues grew in line with our available seat mile growth of 6.0% YoY
• Outlook: "With the continuation of year-over-year increases in stage length and gauge, we currently expect our April 2015 passenger unit revenues to decline, year-over-year, approximately two percent....we currently expect any further 2016 ASM year-over-year growth to be modest, with a focus on producing strong returns on our investments. Our incremental fleet growth in 2016 is currently expected to approximate two percent, compared with 2015."

8:18 am SunCoke Energy misses by $0.12, misses on revs (SXC) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.06 per share, $0.12 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.06; revenues fell 9.1% year/year to $320.4 mln vs the $332.87 mln consensus.

• Loss from continuing operations attributable to SXC was $2.0 mln, or $0.03 per share, in 1Q15 reflecting transaction and financing costs associated with the dropdown of Granite City of $0.09 per share, partially offset by improved operating performance
• Increased dividend 28% to $0.075/share 
• Co reaffirms 2015 guidance:
• Domestic coke production is expected to be ~4.3 mln tons 
• Domestic coke Adjusted EBITDA per ton is expected to be between $55-$60 per ton 
• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA including discontinued operations and legacy costs is expected to be between $190 million to $210 million  
• Capital expenditures are projected to be ~$90 mln

8:18 am Enanta Pharmaceuticals confirms that AbbVie (ABBV) has stated that the FDA has accepted its NDA and granted priority review for its all-oral, interferon-free, two direct-acting antiviral treatment for adult patients with chronic genotype 4 hepatitis C virus infection (ENTA) :  

8:16 am Versar announces its joint venture with Johnson Controls (JCI) Federal Systems has been awarded a $7 mln SR&M Acquisition Task Order Contract with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (VSR) : contract is a single award and is expected to be completed by July 2017.

8:16 am Cherokee announces new license agreement with Sears Canada (SRSC) effective May 3, 2015 (CHKE) : The multi-year agreement covers a wide range of Cherokee family lifestyle categories including men's, women's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories and is planned to launch in Spring 2016. The co's also announced Liz Lange Maternity and Sportswear including expanded size ranges to Sears Canada stores and online beginning with the Spring 2016 selling season.

8:14 am SunCoke Energy Partners reports Q1; increases cash distribution per unit of 5.7% to $0.5715 for Q1 payment (SXCP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.29 per share, $0.12 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues fell 5.5% year/year to $203.3 mln vs the $206.8 mln consensus.

• "Our current outlook is to exit 2015 with an annualized cash distribution per unit rate of $2.42, up 12 percent from our annualized per unit fourth quarter 2014 rate and 47 percent higher than our minimum distribution."
  

8:10 am Pinnacle beats by $0.07, beats on revs (PNK) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.52 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.45; revenues rose 7.5% year/year to $572.8 mln vs the $558.91 mln consensus.

8:09 am Safeguard Scientifics misses by $0.04 (SFE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.70 per share, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.66). Co has no revenue.

8:08 am Meritage misses by $0.15, beats on revs (MTH) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.15 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.55; revenues rose 27.0% year/year to $518.7 mln vs the $474.92 mln consensus, reflects lower home closing margins on higher home closing revenues; and higher selling, general and administrative expenses.

• Home closing revenue increased 27% due to a 20% increase in home closings combined with a 6% increase in average price over the prior year period. 
• East region closing revenue increased by 64% (Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee), while the Central region (Texas) grew revenue by 29% and the West region (California, Colorado and Arizona) grew 8% over the first quarter of 2014. 
• Home closing gross margin was 18.5% for Q1 compared to 22.8% in 1Q14, reflecting higher land costs, fewer high-margin closings driven by rising home prices, a larger percentage of 2015 closings from less-mature and lower-margin divisions in the East region, and an ~40 bps negative impact due to purchase accounting adjustments on home closings from Legendary Communities, acquired in July of 2014. 
• First quarter orders increased 30% and the total value of homes ordered increased 41% with a 9% increase in average sales prices, which reached a company record level of $396,000 in the first quarter of 2015.
  

8:08 am RTI Surgical beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; guides FY15 EPS in-line, revs in-line (RTIX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.05 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.03; revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $68 mln vs the $66.42 mln consensus.

• Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.04 vs. $0.05 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $70-71 mln vs. $70.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $0.19-0.23 vs. $0.19 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate and prior guidance of $0.17-0.22; sees FY15 revs of $281-286 mln vs. $283.38 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

8:08 am DuPont sends letter to shareholders highlighting company's first quarter momentum; urges shareholders to vote for all of DuPont's Directors (DD) : Co says "While your Board and management are focused on delivering higher growth and higher value for shareholders, Trian Fund Management is pursuing a high-risk agenda to break up DuPont, burden it with excessive debt and destroy value. With the May 13th Annual Meeting of Shareholders fast approaching, the future of your investment is in your hands. Your vote can help prevent Trian from pursuing its value-destructive agenda at DuPont. Please vote FOR all DuPont directors using the WHITE proxy card today."

8:06 am Meredith beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides FY15 EPS in-line (MDP) :

• Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.71 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.68; revenues rose 8.3% year/year to $398 mln vs the $401.27 mln consensus. 
  
• Co expects Q4 total revenues to be up high-single digits, total Local Media Group revenues to be up mid-teens, and total National Media Group revenues to be up mid- to high-single digits.
  
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.26-3.31, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.29 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

8:06 am KKR beats by $0.09, beats on revs (KKR) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.62 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.53; revenues fell 5.2% year/year to $294.4 mln vs the $262.08 mln consensus.

• "We had a good start to the year with strong returns and cash flow generation, which translated into $599 mln of economic net income and $517 mln of total distributable earnings. Additionally, our balance sheet continues to perform, resulting in a 20% cash return on equity over the twelve months ending March 31st."
  

8:05 am Altisource Portfolio Solutions beats by $0.12, misses on revs (ASPS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.56 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.12 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.44; revenues fell 1.0% year/year to $207.8 mln vs the $224.45 mln consensus. The average number of loans serviced by Ocwen on REALServicing was 2.4 million for the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 27% compared to the first quarter 2014 The number of houses sold through Hubzu was 8,305 for the first quarter 2015, an increase of 24% compared to the first quarter in 2014

8:05 am Piper Jaffray beats by $0.10, beats on revs (PJC) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.04; revenues fell 3.7% year/year to $161.9 mln vs the $160.07 mln consensus. 

• Assets under management were $11.4 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2015, compared to $11.5 billion in the year-ago period and $11.5 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014.
  

8:05 am Cabela's beats by $0.02, beats on revs; reaffirms 2015 outlook, announces share repurchase (CAB) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.36; revenues rose 14.0% year/year to $827.1 mln vs the $804.28 mln consensus. During the period, consolidated comparable store sales decreased 1.3%.

• "We have started the year well and are pleased that the extreme volatility in firearms and ammunition over the past two years seems to have normalized," 
• The Company's Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program designed primarily to offset shareholder dilution resulting from the granting of equity-based compensation awards. As part of this program, the Company intends to repurchase up to two million shares of its common stock in open market transactions through February 2016. 
• Reaffirms 2015: "As the volatility in firearms and ammunition over the past two years subsides, we are confident in our outlook for full-year 2015... As a result, we reaffirm our expectations for a low-double-digit growth rate in revenue and a high-single to low-double-digit growth rate in diluted earnings per share for full-year 2015 as compared to full-year 2014 non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $2.88." EPS consensus is $3.15 for 2015.

8:05 am Peabody Energy misses by $0.30, misses on revs (BTU) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.62 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.30 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.32); revenues fell 5.5% year/year to $1.54 bln vs the $1.61 bln consensus. Q1 revenue fell YoY due to lower realized pricing and a shift in U.S. production mix toward the Southern Powder River Basin.

• Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $165.6 million declined 6% YoY, and includes the impact of $100 million in lower pricing and the timing of Resource Management transactions.
• "In the face of market headwinds, Peabody's first quarter performance demonstrates the underlying strength of our business as ongoing cost improvements largely overcame lower coal prices and the impact of hedging."

8:05 am Clearfield misses by $0.05, misses on revs (CLFD) : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.02 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.07; revenues fell 6.4% year/year to $12.37 mln vs the $13.29 mln consensus.

8:04 am Dr Pepper Snapple beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY15 EPS in-line, revs below consensus (DPS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.81 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.76; revenues rose 3.8% year/year to $1.45 bln vs the $1.42 bln consensus.

• Co issues in-line EPS guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.80-3.88 vs. $3.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $6.18 bln vs. $6.2 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

8:04 am Union Pacific misses by $0.07, misses on revs (UNP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.30 per share, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.37; revenues fell 0.4% year/year to $5.61 bln vs the $5.69 bln consensus, as lower fuel surcharge revenue and the volume decline more than offset core pricing gains and positive business mix.

•  Volume -2%; volume declines in coal, industrial products, intermodal and chemicals more than offset the growth in automotive and agricultural products.
• "While we took actions during the quarter to adjust for the volume decline, we did not run an efficient operation. We are taking the steps to align our resources with current demand, while remaining agile in an ever-changing environment."
  

8:04 am Keryx Biopharma announces the appointment of John F. Neylan, MD to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer (KERX) : In this role, Dr. Neylan will be responsible for oversight of medical affairs, clinical development and pharmacovigilence at Keryx.  Dr. Neylan comes to Keryx from Genzyme Corporation, a Sanofi (SNY) company, where since 2008 he served in the capacity of Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, focusing on specialty metabolic diseases.

8:03 am Freeport-McMoRan reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (FCX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.06 per share, excluding items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.06); revenues fell 16.7% year/year to $4.15 bln vs the $4.03 bln consensus.

• Consolidated sales totaled 960 million pounds of copper, 263 thousand ounces of gold, 23 million pounds of molybdenum and 12.5 million barrels of oil equivalents for first-quarter 2015, compared with 871 million pounds of copper, 187 thousand ounces of gold, 27 million pounds of molybdenum and 16.1 MMBOE for first-quarter 2014.
  
  
• Average realized prices were $2.72 per pound for copper, $1,186 per ounce for gold and $56.51 per barrel for oil (including $11.97 per barrel for realized cash gains on derivative contracts) for first-quarter 2015.
  
  
• Operating cash flows totaled $717 million (net of $86 million in working capital uses and changes in other tax payments) for first-quarter 2015.
  
  
• FCX has taken actions to reduce or defer capital expenditures and other costs and is evaluating funding alternatives to advance growth projects in its oil and gas business, including consideration of a sale of public equity for a minority interest in its oil and gas subsidiary. Additional capital cost reductions, potential additional divestitures or monetizations and other actions will be pursued as required to maintain a strong balance sheet while preserving a strong resource position and portfolio of assets with attractive long-term growth prospects. FCX has a broad set of natural resource assets that provides many alternatives for future actions to enhance its financial flexibility.
  

8:03 am Fidelity National announces the launch of $1.6 bln in new credit facilities, and the partial redemption of 5.75% senior notes due 2023 (FNF) : Co intends to raise a new $1.6 billion senior secured credit facility , anticipated to be comprised of a $400 million five-year senior secured revolver, $800 million five-year senior secured term loan A facility and $400 million seven-year senior secured term loan B facility. 

• Proceeds of the Facilities are expected to be used to repay, in part, the mirror loan and intercompany loans from Fidelity National Financial, the indirect parent of BKIS, and pay related costs and expenses. 
• Co also has issued a notice of redemption to redeem approximately $205 million aggregate principal amount of their outstanding 5.75% Senior Notes Due 2023 at a redemption price of 105.75% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest
  

8:03 am Juno and AstraZeneca's (AZN) MedImmune announce immuno-oncology clinical trial collaboration (JUNO) : The co and MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca (AZN) have entered into a new collaboration to conduct combination clinical trials in immuno-oncology with one of Juno's investigational CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell candidates and MedImmune's investigational programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint inhibitor, MEDI4736.

• Under the initial development plan, both companies will explore the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of the combination therapy as a potential treatment for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 
• Under the terms of the non-exclusive collaboration, MedImmune and Juno will jointly co-fund the initial Phase Ib study, which is expected to begin later in 2015. The companies will also explore the combination of MEDI4736 with a next-generation, Juno-developed fully human CD19-directed CAR T cell candidate.

8:03 am Avnet misses by $0.04, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (AVT) :

• Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $1.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.08; revenues rose 0.8% year/year to $6.74 bln vs the $6.86 bln consensus. 
  
• Co issues mixed guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.02-1.12 vs. $1.18 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $6.6-7.2 bln vs. $7.07 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

8:03 am USG beats by $0.03, beats on revs (USG) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.29 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.26; revenues rose 6.9% year/year to $909 mln vs the $892.52 mln consensus.

8:02 am Cormedix announces presentations on Neutrolin post marketing surveillance data at the 9th Congress of Vascular Access Society in Barcelona and the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meeting in Dallas (CRMD) : The Neutrolin Usage Monitoring Program is a post-approval surveillance program conducted in Germany in more than 10 dialysis centers that monitors the routine use of Neutrolin, a novel catheter lock solution, in hemodialysis patients with tunneled central venous catheters (CVC). The Program measures the number of catheter related bloodstream infections (:CRBSI) and the number of pre-mature CVC removals due to infection and/or thrombosis. The secondary outcome measure is biofilm formation in CVCs. Additional outcome measures include economic effects derived from using Neutrolin and effectiveness in the high risk groups (e.g. diabetic patients).

• In 105 patients, the results to-date includes two infections and one thrombosis in 17,106 hemodialysis catheter-days. The Neutrolin Usage Monitoring Program results can be calculated as 0.12 infections per 1,000 catheter days (versus benchmark of 3.5 per 1,000 catheter days) and 0.06 thrombosis per 1,000 catheter days (versus benchmark 2-3 per 1,000 catheter days).
  

8:02 am CoreSite Realty beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 FFO guidance (COR) : Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.64 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.61; revenues rose 17.3% year/year to $74.75 mln vs the $74.64 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FFO of $2.55-2.65 vs. $2.58 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• Co is increasing its guidance for 2015 total capital expenditures by $30 mln to a range of $115-145 mln to primarily reflect the development of the powered shell build-to-suit data center on its Santa Clara campus.
  

8:02 am Cytori announces data two BARDA funded preclinical studies at the 2015 American Burn Association Meeting (CYTX) :

• The first presentation titled "Autologous Adipose-Derived Regenerative Cells  Enhance Wound Healing in a Minipig Model of Concomitant Radiation and Thermal Burn Injury" establishes in a preclinical model that Cytori Cell Therapy may be a safe and effective means for improving burn wound healing in the context of concomitant radiation exposure. 
• Results demonstrate that delivery of Cytori Cell Therapy accelerated wound healing with an average 67% increase in blood vessel density, 30% increase in matrix (collagen) deposition, and a 3.5-fold increase in epithelialization two weeks after treatment (compared with control wounds). 
• In addition, molecular analysis demonstrated a 4-fold increase in E-cadherin expression (a marker of epithelialization) in cell-treated wounds. Importantly, similar results were observed when the product was injected directly into the wound or, using a modified formulation, by intravenous administration 
• The second poster presentation titled, "Autologous Adipose-Derived Regenerative Cells Seeded in Collagen Scaffold Improves Dermal Regeneration, Enhancing Early Vascularization and Structural Organization Following Thermal Burn Injury," shows that seeding the Cytori cell therapy product onto a widely used dermal substitute after full thickness burn injury increases depth of wound tissue, collagen deposition, and wound tissue maturation. 
• Specifically, histological analysis revealed that blood vessel density was increased by 50% in wounds receiving cell therapy compared to control. Similarly, the number of aSMA-positive vessels increased by 60% compared with control. 
• The quantitative and qualitative improvement in vascularity was associated with 2-fold increase in tissue thickness and 1.7-fold increase in collagen I deposition within the wound bed. In addition to these improvements in wound healing parameters, addition of the cell therapy product to the scaffold did not impair the ability of the scaffold to resist wound contraction.

8:01 am S&P futures vs fair value: -6.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -19.30. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade modestly lower amid defensive action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover seven points below fair value after spending the night beneath the unchanged level. Index futures have been pressured throughout the night amid disappointing Flash PMI readings from Asia and the Eurozone.

Domestically, weekly Initial Claims will be released at 8:30 ET (Briefing.com consensus 288K) while the New Homes Sales report for March will cross the wires at 10:00 ET (consensus 520K).

Treasuries hold gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 1.96%.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• 3M (MMM 160.75, -3.92): -2.4% after missing estimates and reaffirming its guidance. 
• AT&T (T 33.21, +0.35): +1.1% despite missing earnings and revenue expectations. 
• Caterpillar (CAT 88.95, +4.08): +4.8% after beating estimates and boosting its guidance. 
• Dow Chemical (DOW 51.10, +1.08): +2.2% after its bottom-line beat overshadowed a 14.5% year-over-year decline in revenue. 
• eBay (EBAY 59.70, +2.95): +5.2% after beating estimates and lowering its revenue guidance. 
• Facebook (FB 83.50, -1.13): -1.3% despite reporting a two-cent beat. 
• General Motors (GM 36.00, -1.16): -3.1% in reaction to disappointing results. 
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS 54.25, -2.14): -3.8% after missing earnings and revenue estimates. 
• PepsiCo (PEP 96.25, -1.03): -1.1% despite beating earnings estimates. 
• Procter & Gamble (PG 81.50, -0.93): -1.1% following in-line earnings on light revenue. 
• Qualcomm (QCOM 67.20, -1.74): -2.5% after cautious guidance overshadowed a bottom-line beat. 
• Raytheon (RTN 110.90, +1.25): +1.1% after beating estimates and raising its earnings guidance. 
• Texas Instruments (TXN 54.72, -4.01): -6.8% in reaction to disappointing results and below-consensus guidance. 
• United Continental (UAL 62.42, -1.60): -2.5% despite its bottom-line beat. 

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mixed. China's Shanghai Composite +0.4%, Japan's Nikkei +0.3%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.4%. 
  • In economic data: 
    • China's Flash April HSBC Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 from 49.6 reported in March (expected 49.6) 
    • Japan's Flash April Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.7 from 50.3 reported in March (expected 50.8) 
    • Hong Kong's March Unemployment Rate held at 3.3%, as expected 
    • Australia's NAB Quarterly Business Confidence fell to 0.0 from 2.0 
    • New Zealand's Credit Card Spending +5.2% year-over-year (prior +5.8%) 
    • Singapore's March CPI -0.3% year-over-year (expected -0.5%; prior -0.3%) 
    • South Korea's Q1 GDP +0.8% quarter-over-quarter (expected +0.7%; prior +0.3%); +2.4% year-over-year (expected +2.4%; prior +2.7%) 
  • In news: 
    • China's Manufacturing PMI marked a one-year low with new orders and input/output prices declining across the board

• Major European indices trade lower across the board. Germany's DAX -1.4%, France's CAC -1.0%, and UK's FTSE trades flat. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.9% and Spain's IBEX -0.7%.
  • In economic data: 
    • Eurozone Flash April Manufacturing PMI dropped to 51.9 from 52.2 reported in March (expected 52.6) while Flash Services PMI fell to 53.7 from 54.2 in March (consensus 54.5) 
    • Germany's Flash April Manufacturing PMI fell to 51.9 from 52.8 in March (expected 53.0) while Flash Services PMI dropped to 54.4 from 55.4 in March (consensus 55.5). Separately, May GfK Consumer Climate ticked up to 10.1 from 10.0 (expected 10.2) 
    • UK's March Retail Sales -0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; prior 0.6%); +4.2% year-over-year (consensus 5.4%; last 5.4%). Separately, March Core Retail Sales +0.2% month-over-month (consensus 0.4%; last 0.6%); +5.0% year-over-year (expected 5.4%; prior 4.8%) 
    • French Flash April Manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.4 from 48.8 in March (consensus 49.2) while Flash Services PMI declined to 50.8 from 52.4 in March (expected 52.5) 
    • Spain's Q1 Unemployment Rate increased to 23.78% from 23.70% (consensus 23.60%) 
    • Italy reported no month-over-month Wage Inflation in March while the year-over-year reading increased 1.0% 
  • Among news of note: 
    • European markets displayed gains in the early going as investors responded to a swath of better than expected earnings, but the upbeat start was followed by a retreat in reaction to disappointing PMI readings.

8:01 am Treasuries Find Early Support (BONDX) :

• Following a tough day on Wednesday, Treasuries have rediscovered a winning form in the early going, bolstered by weaker-than-expected PMI readings out of the eurozone, China, and Japan
  
• Yield Check:
  • 2yr: -1 bp at 0.54%
  • 5-yr: -3 bps at 1.37%
  • 10-yr: -3 bps at 1.95%
  • 30-yr: -3 bps at 2.63%
    
    
• International News
  • Greek Prime Minsiter Tsipras and German Chancellor Merkel meeting today ahead of the April 24 finance ministers meeting in Latvia, which will of course have the Greece matter on top of the agenda
  • April Manufacturing PMI readings failed to live up to expectations
    • HSBC PMI for China at 49.2 (expected 49.6; prior 49.6).  Index is at a one-year low.
    • Japan PMI at 49.7 (expected 50.8; prior 50.3), slipping into contraction territory
    • Germany PMI at 51.9 (expected 53.0; prior 52.8)
    • France PMI at 48.4 (expected 49.2; prior 48.8)
    • Eurozone PMI at 51.9 (expected 52.6; prior 52.2)
  • Spain's unemployment rate jumped to 23.8% in the first quarter versus prior reading of 23.7%
  • European equity markets are mostly lower while buyers have returned to sovereign bond markets
    • Germany's DAX Index -1.5%, but the German bund is down 3 bps to 0.14%
  • The euro is actually up 0.4% against the dollar to 1.0764
    
    
• Today's U.S. Data
  • Initial and Continuing Claims for the weeks of 4/18 and 4/11, respectively (08:30 ET)
  • March New Home Sales (10:00 ET)
  • Natural Gas Inventories for week ending 4/18 (10:30)
    
    
• Auction Up
  • $18 billion 5-Tear TIPS Auction (Results at 13:00 ET)

8:01 am NV5 Holdings has acquired Richard J. Mendoza, a program management firm; terms not disclosed, acquisition will be immediately accretive to NV5's earnings (NVEE) : The co announced that it has acquired Richard J. Mendoza, Inc. ("Mendoza & Associates"), a program management firm that specializes in the provision of construction program consulting services to public and private clients in the transportation and clean water/wastewater industries. Mendoza's staff includes up to 95 professionals with annualized revenues of approximately $15 million. The acquisition will be immediately accretive to NV5's earnings and was made through a combination of cash and notes.

8:00 am EnLink Midstream Partners increases its quarterly distribution for MLP units to $0.38/share from $0.375/share (ENLK) :  

7:56 am City Holding Co reports Q1 (Mar) results, beats on revs (CHCO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.17 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.76; revenues rose 19.2% year/year to $56.4 mln vs the $43.97 mln consensus.

• Co sold its insurance operations, "CityInsurance", and recognized a one-time after tax gain of $5.8 mln, or $0.37 per diluted share, in the 1Q15.
  

7:53 am AbbVie beats by $0.09, beats on revs; raises FY15 EPS, ~in-line (ABBV) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.94 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.85; revenues rose 10.5% year/year to $5.04 bln vs the $4.97 bln consensus. 

• On an operational basis, sales increased 17.8 percent, excluding a 7.3 percent unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rate fluctuations. 
• First-quarter sales growth was driven by the continued strength of HUMIRA and other promoted products. Global HUMIRA sales increased 18.0 percent, or 26.0 percent on an operational basis, excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations.
• Total company sales growth was also driven by the launch of Viekira, as well as strong operational growth from other key products including Synagis, Synthroid, Creon and Duodopa. Viekira sales $231 mln
  

Co raises FY15 adj. EPS to $4.10-4.30 from $4.05-4.25 vs. $4.29 Consensus.

7:52 am Sun Communities beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides FY15 FFO in-line (SUI) : Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.90 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.86; revenues rose 37.3% year/year to $152.64 mln vs the $121.22 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FFO of $3.55-3.65 (increased from prior guidance of $3.53-3.63) vs. $3.59 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

7:41 am Caterpillar beats by $0.36, beats on revs; raises FY15 EPS above consensus, reaffirms revs above consensus (CAT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.72 per share, excluding $0.05 in non-recurring charges and excl. $0.14 in gains, $0.36 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.36; revenues fell 4.1% year/year to $12.7 bln vs the $12.49 bln consensus.

• Co raises guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $5.00, excl. non-recurring charges, vs. $4.75 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from $4.75
• Co reaffirms FY15 revs of $50 bln vs. $49.63 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Sales and revenues were off about 4% from the first quarter of last year, mining remained weak and construction was down in most regions. On the plus side, Energy & Transportation turned in another great quarter, although CAT doesn't expect this to continue due to the oil-related portion of the business.

Despite our outlook for modest improvement in global economic growth versus 2014, significant risks and uncertainties remain that could temper growth in 2015. The primary factors contributing to the decline from 2014 are largely the same as the co expected three months ago:  

• Lower oil prices are expected to negatively impact sales of reciprocating engines within Energy & Transportation and Construction Industries' sales in oil-producing countries around the world, including regions of the United States that rely on oil revenues to drive economic growth
• The currency translation impact of a stronger U.S. dollar on our sales outside the United States
• Weaker mining sales
• Lower sales in our rail business, primarily for locomotives
• Lower sales in China, primarily for construction equipment
  

7:41 am Cinedigm Digital Cinema announces a private offering of $60 mln in convertible senior notes due 2035 (CIDM) : Company expects to use approximately $18.2 million of the net proceeds from the offering to repay borrowings under and terminate the Company's term loan and intends to use the remainder of the net proceeds from the offering to fund, in an amount not to exceed $30 million, the cost of repurchasing shares of its common stock pursuant to the forward stock purchase agreement described below and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Company has no current commitments or obligations with respect to any acquisitions.

• Concurrently with the offering of notes, the Company is entering into an amendment to its credit agreement. Upon repayment of the term loan under the credit agreement with $18.2 million of proceeds from the offering, the amendment will, among other things, extend the term of the revolving loans to March 31, 2018, provide for the release of the equity interests in the Company's subsidiaries that are currently pledged as collateral
  
• After the effectiveness of the amendment, the revolving loans will bear interest at Base Rate plus 3% or LIBOR + 4%
• In connection with the offering, the Company intends to enter into a privately negotiated forward stock purchase transaction with a financial institution, pursuant to which the Company will purchase a specified number of shares of common stock for settlement on or about the fifth year anniversary of the issuance date of the notes
  

7:37 am Cameron beats by $0.20, beats on revs (CAM) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.91 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.20 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.71; revenues fell 2.4% year/year to $2.27 bln vs the $2.22 bln consensus. 

Results for the first quarter of 2015 included income from discontinued operations of $429 million, or $2.22 per share, primarily associated with a gain on the previously announced sale of the Company's Centrifugal Compression business; $538 million, or $2.79 per share, of asset impairment charges, primarily related to the impairment of goodwill in the Company's Process Systems business; and $18 million, or $0.09 per share, of other costs for restructuring costs and mark-to-market impact on currency derivatives. On a GAAP basis, the Company's fully diluted earnings per share were $0.25 for the first quarter of 2015, as compared to $0.51 for the first quarter of 2014.

7:37 am General Motors misses by $0.10, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EBIT/margin improvement (GM) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.86 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.96; revenues fell 4.5% year/year to $35.7 bln vs the $36.91 bln consensus. 

• Earnings before interest and tax (:EBIT) adjusted was $2.1 billion and included the impact of $0.1 billion in restructuring costs. 
• GM North America reported EBIT-adjusted of $2.2 billion. This compares with EBIT-adjusted of $0.6 billion in the first quarter of 2014, which included the impact of a $1.3 billion pre-tax charge for recall costs.
• GM Europe reported EBIT-adjusted of $(0.2) billion. This compares with EBIT-adjusted of $(0.3) billion in the first quarter of 2014, which included $0.2 billion for restructuring costs. 
• GM expects its total EBIT adjusted and EBIT-adjusted margin to increase in 2015, compared to 2014, after adjusting 2014 for the impact of recall costs, with improved automotive results anticipated in all regions. 
• Since announcing its $5 billion common stock repurchase program on March 9, 2015, GM has repurchased 19.4 million shares through April 21. 
• TTM ROIC at the end of the quarter was 19.5%, compared to 16.9% last year.

7:35 am Beneficial Mutual Bancorp beats by $0.02 (BNCL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.05.

7:34 am Meridian Bioscience reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance (VIVO) : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.24 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.24; revenues rose 2.8% year/year to $51.5 mln vs the $50.43 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $0.85-0.91 vs. $0.86 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $193-200 mln vs. $196.12 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• "Second fiscal quarter revenues met our expectations despite strong currency headwinds. Overall revenues increased by 3%, 6% in constant currency, to establish a new quarterly record at $51.5 mln. Net earnings of $10.1 mln were strong, although down 2% versus the prior year period as investment spending increased to maintain our organic growth capabilities into the future. Importantly, multiple areas of the business reported solid performance from a well-balanced set of growth drivers."
  

7:34 am Rockwell Collins beats by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 guidance (COL) : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $1.22 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.21; revenues rose 5.4% year/year to $1.34 bln vs the $1.3 bln consensus.

• Co issues reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $5.10-5.30 vs. $5.23 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $5.2-5.3 bln vs. $5.29 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "Our performance in the first half of fiscal 2015 is underscored by another quarter of double digit EPS growth driven by organic sales and earnings growth across all of our businesses,"
  

7:34 am 3M misses by $0.08, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 organic local-currency sales growth guidance (MMM) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.85 per share, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.93; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $7.58 bln vs the $7.83 bln consensus.

• The company noted that foreign currency impacts reduced first-quarter pre-tax earnings by approximately $90 mln or the equivalent of $0.10 per share
• For 2015 in total, 3M now expects foreign currency impacts to reduce earnings by $0.35-0.40 per share versus a prior expectation of negative $0.20 per share 
  
• For the full year, 3M maintained its forecast for organic local-currency sales growth in the range of 3-6%
  

7:34 am Mead Johnson Nutrition beats by $0.04, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (MJN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.09 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.05; revenues fell 1.7% year/year to $1.09 bln vs the $1.13 bln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.90-4.00 vs. $4.00 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees revenue growth around 7% in constant dollars with growth largely in the second half of the year as new initiatives are launched.
• The company currently expects the impact of adverse foreign currency translation to be approximately five percent, leading to reported sales growth of approximately two percent.  

7:34 am Domino's Pizza beats by $0.01, beats on revs (DPZ) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.81 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.80; revenues rose 10.6% year/year to $502.0 mln vs the $487.3 mln consensus.

• Domestic same store sales grew +14.5%, continuing the positive sales momentum in the co's domestic business.
• International division saw same store sales growth of +7.8%.
• Co had global net store growth of 110 stores in Q1.

7:33 am United Continental beats by $0.08, reports revs in-line (UAL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.52 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.44; revenues fell 1.0% year/year to $8.61 bln vs the $8.6 bln consensus. 

• UAL earned a 17.1 percent return on invested capital for the 12 months ended March 31, 2015. 
• UAL's consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (:PRASM) increased 0.4 percent for first-quarter 2015 compared to first-quarter 2014. 
• First-quarter 2015 consolidated unit costs (CASM), excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel and profit sharing, decreased 1.5 percent year-over-year on a consolidated capacity increase of 0.1 percent.
• UAL announced refinements to its fleet plan, which will allow the company to achieve longer-term network needs without increasing its outlook for capacity or gross capital expenditures over the next several years. These changes will not impact the company's current 2015 capacity guidance, and are consistent with the company's focus on capacity discipline, and will not alter the company's current gross annual capital expenditure guidance of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion over the next three to four years.
  

7:33 am BankUnited reports EPS in-line (BKU) :

• Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.44 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.44. 
  
• Book value and tangible book value per common share grew to $20.46 and $19.80, respectively.
  

7:31 am Graphic Packaging beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (GPK) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.17 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.16; revenues fell 6.0% year/year to $1.01 bln vs the $1 bln consensus.

7:30 am Suburban Propane increases quarterly distribution to $0.8875/share from $0.875/share (SPH) :  

7:24 am Severstal reports Q1 EPS of $0.42 vs a loss of ($0.12) in the prior year's quarter; revenue fell 23.1% to $1.53 bln (SVJTY) :

• Co noted it saw significant margins despite challenging market conditions.
• EBITDA margin increased by 6.4 ppts q/q to a record 38.5% (Q4 2014: 32.1%), representing the highest level in Severstal's history as a public company and primarily reflecting ongoing efficiency improvements as well as lower input costs with RUB devaluation mitigating the impact of lower selling prices.
• Group EBITDA decreased a negligible 2.0% q/q to $590 million (Q4 2014: $602 million)
• Severstal is one of the world's leading steel and steel-related mining companies.
  

7:20 am Dana Holding beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides FY15 EPS in-line, revs in-line (DAN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.50 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.44; revenues fell 4.7% year/year to $1.61 bln vs the $1.62 bln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $2.05-2.15, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.07 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $6.3-6.4 bln vs. $6.38 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:20 am Stewart Info reports Q1 (Mar) results, misses on revs (Limited coverage) (STC) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.52 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ two analyst estimate of $0.12; revenues rose 14.0% year/year to $448.9 mln vs the $477.32 mln two analyst estimate.

• "Looking ahead, we are mindful of general economic volatility, as well as an expected decline in mortgage origination volume in the second half of the year. 2015 will bring the most significant changes in the industry's history with the implementation of new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations. These regulations, which go into effect in August 2015, not only are adding regulatory costs and one time implementation expenses this year, but also have the potential to cause temporary operational delays across the industry later in 2015. We are very focused on minimizing the impact of any disruptions and leveraging the pending changes to gain market share while rethinking new processes to increase efficiencies."
  

7:19 am Adeptus Health beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides FY15 EPS above consensus (ADPT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.08; revenues (net patient revenue) rose 110.1% year/year to $81.0 mln vs the $77.56 mln consensus.

• Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $0.82-0.91 vs. $0.58 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Adjusted EBITDA was $13.3 million versus $5.1 million in prior year, an increase of 160.4%. 
• "Based on our strong performance in the first quarter of 2015 and full year growth plans which include 24 freestanding facilities and two new hospitals, we are raising guidance. We expect to generate systemwide net patient services revenue, which includes revenue from our unconsolidated joint venture, of $388.0 million to $393.0 million for the full year 2015."

7:18 am NASDAQ beats by $0.03, misses on revs; raises dividend, reduces expense guidance (NDAQ) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.77; revenues fell 1.9% year/year to $507 mln vs the $513.7 mln consensus. 

• Board has authorized a 67% increase in the quarterly dividend, to $0.25 per share from $0.15. 
• Reducing 2015 non-GAAP expense guidance: The 2015 non-GAAP expense forecast was lowered to $1,085 - $1,110 million, due to the impact of both restructuring actions and changes in foreign exchange rates.
  

7:15 am EQT Midstream Partners beats by $0.19, beats on revs; raises guidance (EQM) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.18 per share, $0.19 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.99; revenues rose 43.5% year/year to $154.8 mln vs the $110.31 mln consensus.

• First quarter adjusted EBITDA was $96.6 million or $9.6 million above the high-end of the previously provided Q1 2015 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $82 - $87 million. The previously provided guidance did not include the impact of the recent Northern West Virginia Marcellus Gathering System (NWV Gathering) acquisition, which contributed $4.6 million to adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter. The remaining $5.0 million variance to the high-end of guidance was primarily driven by higher than expected volumes on the Jupiter gathering system.
• The Partnership forecasts second quarter 2015 adjusted EBITDA of $108 - $113 million and is increasing its full-year 2015 adjusted EBITDA forecast to $430 - $445 million; and distributable cash flow forecast to $375 - $390 million. The increase in the 2015 forecast is primarily related to first quarter results above plan and the impact of NWV Gathering. The financial and distribution guidance does not include financial impacts of potential acquisitions. 

7:15 am Ingersoll-Rand beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance (IR) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.38 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.32; revenues rose 6.1% year/year to $2.89 bln vs the $2.83 bln consensus.

• For Q2, co sees EPS of $1.18-1.22, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 rev growth of +4-5% which we compute as $3.68-3.72 bln vs. $3.68 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.66-3.81, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.74 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 rev growth of +4-5% which we compute as $13.4-13.5 bln vs. $13.41 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:15 am Pool beats by $0.05, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (POOL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14; revenues rose 10.9% year/year to $450.4 mln vs the $437.65 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $2.72-2.87 vs. $2.81 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:15 am Quest Diagnostics beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 EPS in-line, revs in-line (DGX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.04; revenues rose 5.3% year/year to $1.84 bln vs the $1.84 bln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $4.70-4.85, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.79 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate
• Co reaffirms FY15 revs growth of 2-3%, which equates to ~$7.58-7.66 bln vs. $7.62 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:14 am Jarden reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (JAH) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.06; revenues were unchanged from the year-ago period at $1.73 bln. 

• Adjusted gross margin was 29.8% in the first quarter 2015, compared to 30.4% for the same period in 2014.
  

7:13 am Hershey Foods misses by $0.07, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (HSY) :

• Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.09 per share, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.16; revenues rose 3.5% year/year to $1.94 bln vs the $1.96 bln consensus. 
• Outlook for 2015 updated: Reaffirms EPS of $4.30-4.38, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.35 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.Full-year net sales expected to increase 4.5% to 5.5%, including a net benefit from acquisitions and divestitures of about 2.5 points and an increase in unfavorable foreign currency exchange to about 1.5 points ((~$7.76-7.83 bln), may not be comparable to $7.85 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate).  Gross margin to increase 155 to 165 basis points versus a previous 135 to 145 basis points. 
  

7:13 am Penn Natl Gaming beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 below consensus; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (PENN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.11; revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $664.1 mln vs the $668.81 mln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.11 vs. $0.14 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $672.7 mln vs. $681.99 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $0.46 vs. $0.48 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $2.735 bln vs. $2.75 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:13 am Raytheon beats by $0.38, beats on revs; raises FY15 EPS above consensus, reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (RTN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.78 per share, $0.38 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.40; revenues fell 4.0% year/year to $5.29 bln vs the $5.22 bln consensus.

Co issues guidance for FY15, raises EPS to $6.67-6.82 from $6.20-6.35 vs. $6.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate to reflect the previously announced eBorders settlement; reaffirms FY15 revs of $22.3-22.8 bln vs. $22.61 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• Backlog at the end of the first quarter 2015 was $32.5 billion and funded backlog was $23.7 billion, an increase of approximately $1.0 billion compared to the first quarter 2014.
  

7:12 am Inteliquent beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line (IQNT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.28; revenues fell 2.0% year/year to $55.1 mln vs the $55.44 mln consensus. Average rate per minute for the first quarter of 2015 was $0.00159, a decrease of 6.5%, compared to $0.00170 for the first quarter of 2014. Minutes of use increased 4.8% to 34.7 billion minutes in the first quarter of 2015, compared to 33.1 billion minutes in the first quarter of 2014.

7:11 am Baxter beats by $0.12, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (BAX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.00 per share, $0.12 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.88; revenues fell 2.2% year/year to $3.76 bln vs the $3.7 bln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.92-0.96 vs. $1.01 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of -9-10% YoY to ~$3.84-3.88 bln vs. $3.91 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• With the separation of the two companies anticipated to occur mid-2015, company executives will be providing investors an overview of both companies' long-term, strategic outlooks and financial guidance, the afternoon of May 18, 2015 for Baxter International Inc., and the morning of May 19, 2015.

7:11 am DST Systems beats by $0.09, misses on revs (DST) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.40 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.31; revenues fell 1.9% year/year to $495.7 mln vs the $505.4 mln consensus.

7:10 am CMS Energy beats by $0.07, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS in-line (CMS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.73 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.66; revenues fell 16.3% year/year to $2.11 bln vs the $2.36 bln consensus.

• Co reaffirmed in-line guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $1.86-1.89 vs. $1.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• This is consistent with the company's long-term plan of 5 percent to 7 percent annual adjusted earnings per share growth.
• First quarter results reflect successful execution of CMS Energy's business plan and the effects of cold weather, including records set in February for both natural gas deliveries and electric sales.
• The co is reinvesting profits from increased natural gas and electric sales into the business with a continued focus on safety, customer service, reliability and the environment.
  

7:09 am Conatus Pharma clinical results at EASL meeting support Emricasan registration pathway in NASH (CNAT) : The co announced that posters providing detailed results from four recently completed clinical trials of emricasan, the company's first-in-class, orally active pan-caspase protease inhibitor, are being presented this week at The International Liver Congress2015, the 50th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna, Austria, April 22-26, 2015.

• Results from the company's Phase 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of emricasan in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (:ACLF), and Phase 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of emricasan in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (:NAFLD), including the subset of NAFLD patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), are addressed in two late-breaker posters. A third poster addresses results from the company's Phase 1 trial in patients with mild, moderate and severe hepatic impairment and the company's Phase 1 trial in patients with severe renal impairment 
• Conatus intends to include NASH-driven cirrhosis in its initial registration strategy for emricasan. This population already represents a high unmet medical need that is expected to continue growing in the years ahead. Importantly, three validated surrogate markers of mortality risk were identified for this segment of liver disease patients in a manuscript co-authored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASL) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and accepted in January 2015 for publication in the scientific journal Hepatology
  

7:08 am PepsiCo beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; reaffirms for FY15 (PEP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.83 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.79; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $12.22 bln vs the $12.2 bln consensus. 

• PepsiCo reaffirms FY15 mid-single-digit organic revenue growth and 7% core constant currency EPS growth versus its fiscal 2014 core EPS of $4.63,

7:08 am Snap-On beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line (SNA) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.87 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.82; revenues rose 5.1% year/year to $827.8 mln vs the $834.42 mln consensus.

•  Snap-on expects to make continued progress along its defined runways for coherent growth, including enhancing the franchise network, expanding in the vehicle repair garage, extending to critical industries and building in emerging markets. 
• In pursuit of these initiatives, Snap-on continues to expect that capital expenditures in 2015 will be in a range of $80 million to $90 million. Snap-on also continues to expect that its full year 2015 effective income tax rate will be at or below its 2014 full year rate.
  

7:08 am Johnson Controls beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line; guides FY15 EPS below consensus (JCI) : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.73 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.72; revenues fell 2.8% year/year to $9.2 bln vs the $9.79 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.90-0.92 vs. $0.90 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues downside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.30-3.45 vs. $3.48 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. In December 2014, the Company provided full year earnings guidance of $3.55 - $3.70 per diluted share including the GWS contribution of approximately $0.20. With GWS reported as a discontinued operation, the Company is updating its full-year guidance from continuing operations to $3.30 to $3.45 per diluted share for fiscal 2015, a year-over-year increase of 10 to 15 percent. The updated guidance assumes current foreign exchange rates with the negative currency impact substantially offset by lower commodity prices and improved operating efficiencies. The Company also reaffirmed its full fiscal year guidance for segment margin improvements in all three of its businesses.

7:08 am Janus Capital beats by $0.03, beats on revs (JNS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.20; revenues rose 14.1% year/year to $262.7 mln vs the $254.53 mln consensus. Average assets under management during the first quarter 2015 were $186.0 billion compared with $179.2 billion during the fourth quarter 2014 and $173.0 billion during the first quarter 2014.

7:06 am Lazard beats by $0.07, beats on revs; raises quarterly dividend 17% to $0.35/share (LAZ) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.77 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.70; revenues rose 7.6% year/year to $581 mln vs the $569.59 mln consensus. 

• Record first-quarter Financial Advisory operating revenue of $302 million, up 9% from first-quarter 2014 
• Record first-quarter M&A and Other Advisory operating revenue of $261 million, up 9% from first-quarter 2014 
• Record first-quarter Asset Management operating revenue of $271 million, up 3% from first-quarter 2014 Assets under management (:AUM) of $199 billion as of March 31, 2015, up 5% from March 31, 2014, and up 1% from December 31, 2014. 
• Increasing quarterly dividend 17% to $0.35 per share
  

7:05 am Benchmark Elec beats by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs below consensus (BHE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.34 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.32; revenues fell 2.8% year/year to $621 mln vs the $632.34 mln consensus.

• Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.37-0.41 vs. $0.39 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $635-665 mln vs. $683.55 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:05 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei +0.3%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.4%; China's Shanghai Composite +0.4% (:SUMRX) : It was a mixed showing from markets in the Asia-Pacific region on Thursday following the weaker-than-expected HSBC PMI report for China, which showed manufacturing activity slipping to a one-year low. That didn't deter the Shanghai Composite, though, as it jumped another 0.4%. Taiwan (+1.9%) was the big winner on Thursday, benefiting from speculation about the possible implementation of a stock connect program with China like the one Shanghai has with Hong Kong.

Economic data

• China
• April HSBC Manufacturing PMI 49.2 (expected 49.6; prior 49.6)
• Japan
• April Manufacturing PMI 49.7 (expected 50.8; prior 50.3)
• Hong Kong
• March Unemployment Rate 3.3% (expected 3.3%; prior 3.3%)
• Australia
• NAB Quarterly Business Confidence 0.0 (prior 2.0)
• New Zealand
• Credit Card Spending +5.2% year-over-year (prior +5.8%)
• Singapore
• March CPI -0.3% year-over-year (expected -0.5%; prior -0.3%)
• South Korea
• Q1 GDP +0.8% quarter-over-quarter (expected +0.7%; prior +0.3%); +2.4% year-over-year (expected +2.4%; prior +2.7%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.3% following some weaker than expected manufacturing PMI data, helped by a late-session push that pre-empted a dip into negative territory. The energy (+1.6%), industrial (+0.5%) and consumer cyclical (+0.4%) sectors provided support. Individual standouts included Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (+5.5%), Japan Tobacco (+5.3%), and Nippon Yusen KK (+4.2%). Atop the list of decliners were Yahoo Japan (-4.3%), Eisai Co (-2.9%), and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (-2.0%). Out of the 225 index members, 139 ended higher, 79 finished lower, and 7 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.4%, relinquishing strong gains posted in early trading and closed at its low for the session. The consumer cyclical (-1.0%), industrial (-0.7%), and communications (-0.6%) sectors were the main pockets of weakness. Ping An Insurance Co (-3.0%), Sands China (-2.5%), Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (-2.4%), and China Life Insurance Co (-2.3%) topped the list of decliners. Want Want China (+4.8%) led all gainers. Out of the 50 index members, 19 ended higher, 28 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.4%, brushing aside the HSBC PMI report that showed manufacturing activity hitting a one-year low in April and remaining in contraction territory. Gains in the basic materials (+4.1%), consumer cyclical (+2.1%), and energy (+1.4%) sectors helped keep Chinese markets aloft.
• India's Sensex declined 0.6% after starting Thursday's session on a positive note. The consumer non-cyclical (-1.0%) and industrial (-1.0%) sectors led the retreat. Sun Pharmaceuticals (-2.7%), Tata Motors (-2.2%), and State Bank of India (-2.2%) topped the list of decliners. Tata Steel (+5.2%) was the best-performing issue followed by Coal India (+1.3%) and Cipla Ltd (+1.1%).
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.1%, aided by a late-day buying push that made the difference. The metals & mining (+1.9%), resources (+1.6%), and materials (+1.3%) sectors led the way for the index.
• Regional advancers: Taiwan +1.9%, South Korea +1.4%, Singapore +0.2%, Philippines +0.8%
• Regional decliners: Malaysia -0.5%, Thailand -0.5%, Indonesia -0.02%, Vietnam -0.2%

FX

• USD/CNY +0.05% at 6.1987
• USD/INR +0.4% at 63.240
• USD/JPY unch at 119.93
  

7:04 am Bemis beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (BMS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.61 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.58; revenues fell 5.0% year/year to $1.04 bln vs the $1.04 bln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $2.52-2.67 vs. $2.56 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "We confirm our previous guidance. Our underlying business is very strong, and we are focused on working to offset potential currency headwinds with cost discipline throughout our entire business. As we enter our seasonally strong second quarter, we will continue to remain focused on efficiently commercializing new products, on productivity improvements, and on strong pricing discipline during the remainder of 2015."
  

7:04 am Park Sterling reports EPS in-line (PSTB) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.09 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.09. Organic loan growth of $34.2 million, or 9% annualized growth rate.

7:03 am Gran Tierra Energy: West Face Capital shareholder group issues a statement, positing that 'incremental change and delay from management does not serve Gran Tierra shareholders' (GTE) : Group's letter stated:

• "In its April 21 letter to Gran Tierra, West Face recommended, among other things, that the company refocus on its core Colombian properties and avoid further high-risk, high-cost ventures in frontier locations. Twenty-four hours later, the Gran Tierra Board clarified for shareholders that its strategic focus is on Colombia. 
• We believe acknowledgement and promises are not sufficient to correct ineffectual oversight, incoherent strategy, inflated overhead costs and failure to align the interests of the Board and shareholders. A fundamental change of course is required for Gran Tierra, not half-measures by the existing Board. 
• We have proposed a proven CEO in Gary Guidry and a new slate of experienced independent directors."
  

7:03 am Dow Chemical beats by $0.08, misses on revs (DOW) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.84 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.76; revenues fell 14.5% year/year to $12.37 bln vs the $13.04 bln consensus.

7:03 am Altria beats by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (MO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.63 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.62; net rev rose 6.6% year/year to $4.27 bln vs the $4.13 bln consensus.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $2.75-2.80, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.78 Capital IQ Consensus. 

• "In the smokeable segment, PM USA's steady investments in Marlboro continued to strengthen the brand's leadership position. In the smokeless segment, USSTC grew its volume, supported by retail share gains from Copenhagen and Skoal combined. And Nu Mark began shipping its next generation e-vapor product, MarkTen XL, into lead markets."
  

7:02 am NASDAQ announces an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.25/share from $0.15/share (NDAQ) :  

7:01 am Central GoldTrust: announces that it intends to commence an offer to acquire all of the outstanding units of GTU and to commence an offer to acquire all of the outstanding units of Silver Bullion Trust (GTU) : The aggregate value of these proposed transactions would be ~$898 million. Based on the relative trading values to NAV of the Sprott Physical Trusts, the proposed exchange offer would unlock US$3.33 per unit for Central GoldTrust unitholders. For Silver Bullion Trust unitholders, the proposed transaction would unlock US$0.96 per unit. Together, the offers would unlock US$69.5 million in unitholder value

7:00 am GTX announces a license agreement with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation to develop the foundation's SARD technology (GTXI) :  

7:00 am Procter & Gamble reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; reaffirms FY EPS guidance (PG) : Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.92 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.92; revenues fell 7.6% year/year to $18.14 bln vs the $18.42 bln consensus.

•  Co reaffirms guidance for Core EPS to be in-line to down low single digits versus prior year Core EPS of $4.09, consistent with analysts' current consensus estimate of $3.98.
  

6:59 am American Electric beats by $0.19, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (AEP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) adj. earnings of $1.28 per share, $0.19 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.09; revenues rose 2.2% year/year to $4.7 bln vs the $4.59 bln consensus.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.40-3.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.51 Capital IQ Consensus. 

• "Weather had a positive impact in both first-quarter 2014 and 2015 -- the coldest and second coldest winters respectively in our service territory during the past 35 years. Overall, weather-normalized sales for first-quarter 2015 were 1.3 percent lower than last year. Industrial sales grew 1.2 percent, commercial sales fell slightly, and residential sales declined 4 percent as expected, due to extremely high usage by customers during the polar vortex events of 2014. We remain confident that our 2015 load growth projections are on track."
  

6:58 am Staples acquires the company Happy, designer of the iOS app Makr; financial terms not disclosed (SPLS) :  

6:47 am MarineMax misses by $0.11, reports revs in-line (HZO) : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.02 per share, $0.11 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.13; revenues rose 26.3% year/year to $172.5 mln vs the $172.21 mln consensus. 

• "Despite the ongoing challenging weather in the Northeast, we are pleased with the momentum of our business which produced a profit in the first six months of our fiscal year, a milestone last achieved nine years ago. Furthermore, we anticipate that our backlog and the continual stream of new products that will be delivered should positively contribute to our summer selling season and beyond. We believe our sales growth is outpacing that of the industry, yielding continued market share gains as we strive to execute on our strategy of fully embracing our customers and ensuring they are enjoying the boating lifestyle."
  

6:41 am Medidata Solutions beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY15 in-line; announces new CFO (MDSO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.15; revenues rose 20.6% year/year to $92.4 mln vs the $91.05 mln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $392-412 vs. $401.12 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• Sees adjusted non-GAAP net income between $47.0 and $50.5 million. 
• Company is assuming 56.0 million fully diluted shares, which would equate to adjusted EPS of $0.84-0.90 vs. $0.87 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co also announces Rouven Bergmann to join as CFO, replacing Cory Douglas, Medidata's current CFO, who will pursue opportunities outside of Medidata by mutual agreement upon Bergmann's start.

6:36 am Invacare beats by $0.08, beats on revs (IVC) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.21 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.29); revenues fell 5.1% year/year to $289 mln vs the $283.9 mln consensus.

• ''Excluding the impact of unfavorable foreign currency translation, the Company delivered net sales growth of 2.3% compared to the first quarter of last year driven by increases in three of its four segments. Unfavorable foreign currency transactions and sales mix toward lower margin customers and products reduced gross margin as a percentage of net sales by 0.5 of a percentage point compared to the first quarter of last year."
  

6:36 am First American Financial beats by $0.03, beats on revs (FAF) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.34 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.31; revenues rose 9.7% year/year to $1.11 bln vs the $1.07 bln consensus.

• Direct title orders closed were up 15%, driven by a 62% increase in refinance orders
  
• Average revenue per direct title order closed was up 8%
  
• Title Insurance and Services segment pretax margin of 6.8%
  
• Specialty Insurance segment total revenue was up 8%, with a pretax margin of 18.2%
  

6:35 am Mack-Cali Realty beats by $0.02, beats on revs (CLI) : Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.43 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues fell 9.4% year/year to $153.7 mln vs the $149.19 mln consensus.

6:35 am Sesa Sterlite announced that it has changed its name to 'Vedanta Limited' (SSLT) :  

6:34 am Alexion Pharma misses by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY15 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (ALXN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.28 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.31; revenues rose 5.9% year/year to $600.3 mln vs the $591.58 mln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $5.60-5.80 vs. $5.84 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; EPS guidance includes an approximately $0.35 negative foreign exchange impact compared to 2014 exchange rates. 
• Sees FY15 revs of $2.55-2.6 bln vs. $2.62 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, which includes an approximately negative 6%, or $160 mln, foreign exchange impact compared to 2014 exchange rates.   
  
• "Throughout the remainder of the year, we will serve an increasing number of patients with PNH and aHUS, and launch Strensiq globally, while continuing to advance our late-stage pipeline as we drive toward as many as seven new indications or product approvals through 2018."
  

6:33 am PulteGroup misses by $0.05, misses on revs (PHM) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.20; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $1.13 bln vs the $1.25 bln consensus. 

• Revenues for the quarter reflect a 2% increase in average selling price to $323,000, offset by a 2% decrease in closings to 3,365 homes. 
• Home sale gross margin for the quarter was 22.7% which was in line with Company guidance. 
• Margins for the period reflect the impact of a 30 basis point reduction from acquisition accounting associated with the Company's 2014 purchase of certain assets from Dominion Homes. 
• Net new orders gained 6% over the prior year to 5,139 homes. The dollar value of net new orders also increased 6% over the prior year to $1.7 billion. 
• "Although Q1 earnings were impacted by higher income tax expense, acquisition accounting and construction delays which slowed closings, we generated a 6% increase in unit signups while maintaining high absorption paces and low incentive levels. Given the favorable demand environment and ongoing benefits from our Value Creation initiatives, we are well positioned to deliver another year of excellent operating and financial results."
  

6:30 am Medidata Solutions announces Rouven Bergmann to join as CFO; reaffirms 2015 guidance (MDSO) : Cory Douglas, Medidata's current CFO, will pursue opportunities outside of Medidata by mutual agreement upon Bergmann's start. Rouven Bergmann is joining the company as Chief Financial Officer effective Monday, May 18, 2015. Medidata also reaffirmed that there is no change to its 2015 financial guidance. As CFO of SAP North America, Bergmann was responsible for overseeing all financial activities for SAP's largest business unit. 

6:29 am Eli Lilly beats by $0.13, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 guidance (LLY) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.87 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.74; revenues fell 0.8% year/year to $4.64 bln vs the $4.62 bln consensus (-6% non-GAAP).

• The revenue decline was driven by the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rates and lower demand for Cymbalta and Evista following U.S. patent expirations, partially offset by higher prices and wholesaler buying patterns, as well as increased volumes for several other products including Cyramza and Humalog. 
• U.S. revenue increased 2 percent to $2.197 billion, driven primarily by higher prices, wholesaler buying patterns, and increased volume for Cyramza, partially offset by lower demand for Cymbalta and Evista following patent expirations.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.10-3.20, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.14 Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY15 revs of $19.5-20.0 bln vs. $19.83 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 

• The co now anticipates that gross margin as a percent of revenue will be ~74.5 percent on a reported basis due to the impact of the transfer of Erbitux rights. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin as a percent of revenue is still expected to be ~78.0 percent, reflecting the exclusion of inventory step-up costs associated with the acquisition of Novartis Animal Health as well as amortization of intangibles. 
  

6:27 am Wesco misses by $0.10, misses on revs; lowers FY15 guidance (WCC) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.90 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.00; revenues rose 0.3% year/year to $1.82 bln vs the $1.9 bln consensus.

• Co issues guidance for FY15, lowers EPS to $5.00-5.40 from $5.20-5.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $5.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; lowers FY15 revs of (3%) - 3% from 0-3% to ~$7.65-8.13 bln vs. $8.01 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "We had a challenging start to the year where reduced demand in the industrial market, winter weather impacts, and foreign exchange headwinds weighed heavily on our results in the first quarter. While organic sales per workday grew 3%, sales momentum decelerated through the quarter. Gross margin was down versus prior year but was flat sequentially. Effective cost controls partially mitigated the impact on operating profit and as a result EPS was down versus prior year."

6:27 am Alaska Air beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line (ALK) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.12 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.10; revenues rose 3.8% year/year to $1.27 bln vs the $1.27 bln consensus. Sees Q2 Capacity (ASMs in millions) 8,925 - 8,975 and FY15 Capacity of 35,600 - 36,000 vs. prior guidance of 35,500 - 36,000.

6:23 am Stanley Black & Decker beats by $0.12, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (SWK) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.07 per share, $0.12 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.95; revenues rose 0.5% year/year to $2.63 bln vs the $2.6 bln consensus, positive volume (+7%) and price (+1%) were substantially offset by currency (-7%).

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $5.65-5.85 vs. $5.75 Capital IQ Consensus. Despite $60 to $70 million ($0.30 to $0.35 per share) in new, incremental foreign currency om pressure year over year currency-related eps headwinds included in full year guidance now total $1.00 to $1.10 (19% to 20% of prior year eps) 2015 free cash flow still expected to be at least $1.0 billion.

• "We posted strong organic growth and operating leverage in our Tools & Storage and Engineered Fastening businesses in the face of a challenging currency environment, and continued to execute on our plan to improve operating performance in Security.
  

6:22 am Colfax beats by $0.03, misses on revs (CFX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.36 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.33; revenues fell 13.6% year/year to $911.1 mln vs the $958.71 mln consensus. 

• Gas- and fluid-handling finished the period with backlog of $1.351 billion.
• "First quarter results were largely in line with expectations. Margins were strong in both segments, demonstrating improved operational execution given the low volumes. We were also pleased with our strengthened balance sheet and improved credit profile. Orders in our gas- and fluid-handing segment were, as expected, down as we are at the bottom of the environmental remediation cycle and comparing to a very strong 2014 first quarter. Although our end markets remain challenging, we expect more typical order levels in the second quarter."
  

6:21 am W.R. Grace beats by $0.03, misses on revs; on track to meet 2015 goals (GRA) :

• Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.82 per share, excluding items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.79; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $720.6 mln vs the $728.2 mln consensus. 
• Co reaffirms FY15 guidance -- As of April 23, 2015, Grace affirms its outlook for 2015 Adjusted EBIT in the range of $675 -705 mln on a constant currency basis, an increase of 8% to 13% compared with 2014. The company expects 2015 Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $815 mln to $845 mln on a constant currency basis, an increase of 7% to 11% compared with 2014. The company expects Adjusted EPS to be in the range of $5.05 to $5.45 per share on a constant currency basis, an increase of 14% to 23% over 2014 ( vs. $4.71 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate). Using current exchange rates, including the euro at $1.07, we would expect a currency headwind to Adjusted EBIT of approximately $60 mln and to Adjusted EPS of approximately $0.55 per share. The company continues to expect 2015 Adjusted Free Cash Flow to be at least $430 mln, including a favorable impact to 2015 cash flow of approximately $120 mln, equivalent to $1.65 per share, due to Grace's low cash tax rate compared with its expected effective tax rate. The company is unable to make an estimate of the amount of the annual mark-to-market pension adjustment or 2015 net income.

6:19 am Dunkin Brands beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY15 EPS above consensus, reaffirms comps guidance (DNKN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.35; revenues rose 8.1% year/year to $185.9 mln vs the $180.71 mln consensus. Dunkin' Donuts U.S. comparable store sales growth of 2.7%. Baskin-Robbins U.S. comparable store sales growth of 8.0%.

• FY15 outlook:
• Continues to expect Dunkin' Donuts U.S. comparable store sales growth of 1% to 3% and Baskin-Robbins U.S. comparable store sales growth of 1% to 3%
• Sees EPS of $1.87-1.91 vs. $1.86 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from prior guidance of $1.83-1.87, reflecting the financial impact of the agreement with The J.M. Smucker Company and Keurig to make Dunkin' K-Cup packs available at additional retail outlets nationwide net of the financial impact of the profit-sharing agreement it reached with Dunkin' Donuts U.S. franchisees. 

6:17 am WNS beats by $0.02, revs in line; guides FY16 EPS in-line, revs in-line (WNS) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; Non-GAAP revenues rose 2.7% year/year to $126.1 mln vs the $126.86 mln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.65-1.76 vs. $1.76 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $515-545 mln vs. $539.56 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "The company has provided our initial forecast for fiscal 2016 based on current visibility levels and exchange rates. Our guidance for the year reflects top line growth of 2% to 8%, which represents 7% to 14% revenue growth on a constant currency* basis." Adjusted operating margin for the fourth quarter was 20.7%, as compared to 19.1% in Q4 of last year and 22.3% reported in the third quarter.
  

6:16 am Patterson-UTI beats by $0.03, misses on revs (PTEN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.03; revenues fell 3.0% year/year to $657.7 mln vs the $679.91 mln consensus. "Our rig count in the first quarter averaged 165 rigs in the United States and eight rigs in Canada. Our rig count and pressure pumping activity continue to be negatively impacted by the reduction in spending by exploration and production companies, caused primarily by the lower price for crude oil. For the month of April, we expect our rig count to average 130 rigs in the United States and two rigs in Canada."

6:15 am NorthWestern misses by $0.09; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (NWE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.27; revenues fell 6.4% year/year to $346 mln vs the $416.17 mln consensus.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.10-3.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.22 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

6:14 am Sequans Communications misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line (SQNS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.14 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.13); revenues rose 6.7% year/year to $4.8 mln vs the $5.1 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ($0.12)-($0.10) vs. ($0.10) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $7-9 mln vs. $7.80 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

6:12 am Proto Labs reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (PRLB) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.45 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.45; revenues rose 26.9% year/year to $58.5 mln vs the $58.21 mln consensus.

6:11 am Polaris Inds beats by $0.02, beats on revs; narrows FY15 EPS guidance (below consensus) and reaffirms rev guidance (PII) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.30 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.28; revenues rose 16.3% year/year to $1.03 bln vs the $1 bln consensus.

• Co narrows FY15 EPS guidance and reaffirms rev guidance:
• Sees FY15 EPS of $7.27-7.42 vs. $7.45 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• FY15 sales are expected to grow in the range of 9 to 12 percent over full year 2014 sales, unchanged from previous issued sales guidance.

6:09 am Carlisle Cos beats by $0.01, beats on revs; sees mid-to-high single digit FY15 organic sales growth (CSL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.59 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.58; revenues rose 9.1% year/year to $709.3 mln vs the $699.18 mln consensus. 

• Organic net sales growth was 7.4%. The acquisition of LHi Technology (LHi) in the Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (CIT) segment contributed 3.9% to net sales in the first quarter. Fluctuations from foreign exchange had a negative impact to net sales of 2.2%. 
• Income from continuing operations in the first quarter 2015 increased 8.2% to $39.5 million, compared with $36.5 million in the first quarter 2014, reflecting higher sales volume and savings from the Carlisle Operating System, partially offset by the negative impact of unfavorable changes in sales mix, fluctuations in foreign exchange and lower earnings at Carlisle FoodService Products (:CFS).
  
• "For the full year 2015, we are planning for mid-to-high single digit organic sales growth, plus contribution from the acquisitions of LHi and Finishing Brands. Both the LHi and Finishing Brands acquisitions are expected to be accretive to our net earnings in 2015. We are planning for another record year with EBIT and EBIT margin improvement primarily from leverage on organic sales growth and favorable raw material conditions for CCM."
  

6:06 am Danaher reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus; lowers FY15 EPS below consensus (DHR) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.93 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.93; revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $4.87 bln vs the $4.82 bln consensus; core rev +5%.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.01-1.05, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.08 Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY15, lowers EPS to $4.23-4.33, excluding non-recurring items, from $4.30-4.40 vs. $4.34 Capital IQ Consensus; FX impact $0.07 since January.

6:04 am BB&T Corp misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line (BBT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) adj earnings of $0.68 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.70; revenues rose 1.5% year/year to $2.34 bln vs the $2.36 bln consensus. 

• Net interest margin was 3.33%, down three basis points compared to the prior quarter due to lower rates on new loans and runoff of loans acquired from the FDIC. 
• Average loans held for investment for the first quarter of 2015 were $118.8 billion, up $536 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
  

6:01 am NovaCopper to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Sunward by way of a court approved plan of arrangement (NCQ) : The company plans to advance the Arctic deposit towards feasibility with a US$8-10 million field program this summer.  Meanwhile, plans are underway to maximize shareholder value at the Titiribi exploration asset in Colombia. 

• Under the terms of the Arrangement, Sunward shareholders will receive 0.3 of a NovaCopper common share for each Sunward common share held.  The Exchange Ratio represents the equivalent of $0.1841 per Sunward Share based on the closing price of the NovaCopper Shares on the NYSE MKT LLC as of April 22, 2015 and represents the equivalent of $0.1865 per Sunward Share based on the 20-day volume weighted average price of the NovaCopper Shares on the NYSE-MKT as of the same date.  The Exchange Ratio implies a total transaction value of ~$27.6 million on a VWAP20 basis
  

6:01 am Yingli Green Energy Announces an agreement ~524K sq meters of land that is not currently in active use, for RMB 588.2 mln (YGE) : The Land has a total site area of 524,464 square meters and was originally acquired for expansion of the Company's in-house polysilicon production capacity. The Company does not expect sale of the Land and the attachments thereon will have any negative impact on its business operation. The Reserve Centre has paid to Fine Silicon RMB 500 million as of April 23rd, 2015. Remainder of the purchase price will be paid within 30 days after the Reserve Centre re-sells the land use rights to the Land to a third party.

6:00 am Avolon Holdings announces the completion of a new $675 mln 8-year secured debt facility (AVOL) :  

5:56 am S&P futures vs fair value: -4.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -15.40. :

5:56 am European Markets : FTSE...7038.59...+10.40...+0.20%.  DAX...11779.51...-87.90...-0.70%.

5:56 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...20187.65...+53.80...+0.30%.  Hang Seng...27827.70...-106.20...-0.40%.

5:54 am Johnson & Johnson's Janssen announces results for its hepatitis C treatment simeprevir at The International Liver Congress 2015 of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna (JNJ) : Late-breaking results from the Phase 3 OPTIMIST-1 and OPTIMIST-2 trials highlight the clinical outcomes of simeprevir in an all-oral combination regimen in a wide range of patients with hepatitis C virus infection. The results from the OPTIMIST-1 and OPTIMIST-2 trials are the first Phase 3 data to be presented on simeprevir in combination with sofosbuvir (SMV/SOF) in patients with genotype 1 chronic HCV infection, both with and without cirrhosis. Sofosbuvir is a nucleotide analog NS5B polymerase inhibitor developed by Gilead Sciences (GILD).

• OPTIMIST-1: 97% of patients treated with SMV/SOF for 12 weeks (n=150/155) achieved SVR12, which was superior to the SVR12 rate of 87% among the historical control. SVR12 rates of 100% were seen among patients with IL28B CC genotype (n=43/43) and those with baseline NS5A and NS3 Q80K polymorphisms (n=9/9). Patients treated with eight weeks of SMV/SOF achieved an SVR12 rate of 83% (n=128/155), which was not superior to the SVR12 rate of 83% in the historical control. High SVR12 rates were seen among patients with baseline HCV RNA IL28B CC genotype (93%; n=38/41), patients with genotype 1b HCV infection (92%; n=36/39) and patients without baseline NS5A and Q80K polymorphisms (89%; n=78/88). The most frequently reported adverse events in the 12-week and eight-week treatment arms were headache (14 and 17%, respectively), fatigue (12 and 15%, respectively) and nausea (15 and 9%, respectively).
• OPTIMIST-2: Twelve weeks of treatment with SMV/SOF resulted in SVR12 rates of 84% (n=86/103), which was superior to the SVR12 rate of 70% in the historical control. Higher SVR12 rates were seen in patients with baseline NS5A polymorphisms with or without NS3 Q80K polymorphisms (100%; n=13/13), patients with albumin >4 g/dL (94%; n=47/50) and treatment-naive patients (88%; n=44/50). The most common adverse events were fatigue (20%), headache (20%) and nausea (11%).

5:49 am National Storage Affiliates (NYSE: NSA) priced its 20 mln share IPO at $13.00 per share, below the expected $15.00-$17.00 range (NSA) :  

5:47 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Horizon Discovery Group and Transgenomic (TBIO) announced a new Original Equipment Manufacture agreement to incorporate Horizon's human genomic reference standards, produced by Horizon's Diagnostics division, into Transgenomic's Multiplexed ICE COLD-PCRTM kits for use in research and clinical applications. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed. 
• Sonic Foundry (SOFO) announced a partnership with QuickMobile to develop the meeting and event industry's first Mobile App Certificate Program.

5:35 am Sociedad Quimica y Minera announces that Pampa Calichera, PotashCorp (POT) and other significant minority shareHolders nominated candidates as directors for SQM's Board (SQM) : The co announced that that Pampa Calichera has nominated Hernn Bchi B., Juan Antonio Guzmn M., Dieter Linneberg A. and Wolf von Appen B. to stand for election to the board of directors of SQM at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 24, 2015, representing the series A shares. PotashCorp (POT) has nominated three of its employees --Ms. Joanne Boyes, Mr. Robert Kirkpatrick and Mr. Arnfinn Prugger-- to stand for election to the board of directors of SQM at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 24, 2015, representing the series A shares. Lastly, Pampa Calichera's and PotashCorp's supported nominees join Mr. Edward J. Waitzer, supported by significant minority shareholders, to stand for election to the board of directors of SQM at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 24, 2015, representing the series B shares.

• The co notes that Pampa Calichera and PotashCorp support such eight nominees and are pleased with the changes to SQM's board and governance structure and are looking forward to supporting SQM in executing its operating and growth strategy.
  

5:07 am Mylan Labs launches generic Sofosbuvir tablets, MyHep, in India (MYL) : Co announced that its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, has launched generic Sofosbuvir 400 mg tablets under the brand name MyHep in India. The product is indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, a blood-borne infectious disease that affects more than 100 million people in the developing world, including approximately 12 million people in India.

5:06 am CNOOC's Kenli 10-1 oilfield commences production (CEO) : Co announced that the Kenli 10-1 oilfield has commenced production. The Kenli 10-1 oilfield is located in the South of Bohai with an average water depth of approximately 17 meters. The main production facilities of this oilfield include one central processing platform, two wellhead platforms and 70 producing wells. There are currently 12 wells producing approximately 10,750 barrels of crude oil per day. The oilfield is expected to reach its ODP designed peak production of approximately 36 thousand barrels per day in 2016.

4:54 am Intercept Pharma announces new FLINT trial data showing OCA treatment increases fibrosis resolution and cirrhosis prevention in high-risk NASH patients (ICPT) : Co announced the availability of additional post-hoc analyses from the Phase 2b FLINT trial of obeticholic acid (:OCA) in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

• The results reported build on previously reported data from post-hoc analyses showing that OCA-treated patients experienced significant improvements in key histologic features of steatohepatitis, including NAS reduction by at least two points (60% OCA vs. 30% placebo), NASH resolution (18% OCA vs. 5% placebo), and liver fibrosis improvement by at least one stage (39% OCA vs. 21% placebo, p=0.007). These histologic benefits were observed in OCA-treated patients in all subgroups and regardless of baseline fibrosis stage.
  

3:33 am Merck announces results from Phase 2/3 study of investigational chronic hepatitis C therapy Grazoprevir/Elbasvir in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (MRK) : Co announced the first presentation of data from C-SURFER, the company's Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating the investigational once-daily treatment regimen of grazoprevir (100mg) and elbasvir (50mg) in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease infected with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1.

• Following 12 weeks of treatment with grazoprevir and elbasvir, 99% (115/116) of patients in the pre-specified primary population for analysis of efficacy data achieved a sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the completion of treatment (SVR12).
• These data will be presented today at The International Liver CongressTM 2015 -- the 50th annual congress of the European Association for the Study of the Liver
  

3:04 am Dassault Systems beats on top and bottom lines; sees FY15 EPS in-line (DASTY) : Reports Q1 EPS EUR0.43 vs EUR0.41 Capital IQ consensus; revs incrased30% YoY to EUR665.1 mln vs EUR629.7 mln consensus. 

• Organic software revenue up 9% in constant currencies
  
• On an organic basis, the Company has seen a progressive strengthening of its revenue results over the last four quarters, led by improved new licenses revenue dynamic. Excluding acquisitions and in constant currencies, non-IFRS total revenue increased 8%, software revenue grew 9% and new licenses revenue rose 14%.
  

Guidance

• Second quarter 2015 non-IFRS total revenue objective of about 665-675 million vs 718 mln consensus
  
• Sees 2015 non-IFRS EPS range of about 2.10-2.13 vs 2015 vs 2.11 consensus

2:56 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase (NTES) announced that Sanctuary's gates have been thrown open to all Chinese heroes, as open beta testing for Blizzard Entertainment's award-winning action role-playing game Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is now live in China. 
• Toshiba Corporation (TOSBF) announced that it has received an order to supply two sets of steam turbine and generators for the Norte III Combined Cycle Power Plant in Chihuahua, Mexico. Toshiba will start delivery of STG to the site from August 2016 and the plant is scheduled to come on line in August 2017. 
• Yingli Green Energy (YGE) announced that Pakistan's Parliament House will be powered by 1 megawatt of high efficiency multicrystalline Yingli Solar panels.
• TomTom (TMOAY) announces a partnership with Mozilla and Telefnica to bring its Maps Online and Nav Online apps to HTML5 powered Firefox OS smartphone devices.

2:38 am LM Ericsson misses by SEK0.35, reports revs in-line (ERIC) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of SEK0.77 per share, SEK0.35 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of SEK1.12; revenues rose 12.6% year/year to SEK53.5 bln vs the SEK53.59 bln consensus.

• Sales, adjusted for comparable units and currency decreased by -6% YoY, driven by slower mobile broadband activity in North America. 
• With current visibility co anticipates the fast pace of 4G deployments in Mainland China to continue and the North American mobile broadband business to remain slow in the short term. 
• Gross margin decreased YoY to 35.4% (36.5%), due to lower capacity business in North America and continued fast pace of 4G coverage deployments in Mainland China, increased restructuring charges and a higher share of Global Services sales. 
• The net currency effect contributed positively to the operating income, despite a negative currency hedge effect of SEK -1.4 (-0.1) b.
  

2:28 am Novartis AG beats by $0.14, misses on revs; reaffirms FY results (NVS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.33 per share, $0.14 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.19; revenues fell 14.9% year/year to $11.94 bln vs the $12.89 bln consensus.

• Pharmaceuticals net sales reached $7.1 billion (-9%, +1% cc), with volume growth of 9 percentage points, including the new oncology assets acquired from GSK (sales of $0.2 billion in March), offset by the negative impact of generic competition (-8 percentage points), largely for Diovan monotherapy, Exforge and Vivelle-Dot in the US. Growth Products - which include Gilenya, Afinitor, Tasigna, Galvus, Lucentis, Xolair, the COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) portfolio[1] and Jakavi - generated $2.9 billion or 41% of division net sales. 
• These products grew 25% (cc) over the same period last year. 
• Alcon net sales were $2.6 billion (-3%, +5% cc) in the first quarter, led by continued growth in the Surgical and Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals franchises. The Surgical franchise (-3%, +6% cc) benefited from strong sales of the Centurion phacoemulsification cataract platform and disposables, as well as continued growth in US LenSx femtosecond cataract procedures. Sales of intraocular lenses were flat. Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals sales (-2%, +6% cc) were driven by double- digit growth of Systane and fixed-dose glaucoma combination products. Vision Care performance (-5%, +3% cc) was driven by Dailies Total1, Dailies AquaComfort Plus and AirOptix Colors, partially offset by a decline in contact lens care solutions. Emerging Growth Markets delivered strong double-digit growth in constant currencies (+3%, +15% cc). 

Outlook 2015 for continuing operations confirmed

• Net sales expected to grow mid-single digit (cc)
• core operating income expected to grow ahead of sales at a high-single digit rate 
  

2:11 am Logitech Intl SA beats by $0.14, reports revs in-line (LOGI) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.14 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.04); revenues fell 3.6% year/year to $467.3 mln vs the $463.66 mln consensus.

Outlook
Logitech confirmed its FY 2016 outlook of $150 million in non-GAAP operating income, despite the stronger currency headwinds, and 7% growth for Retail Strategic sales in constant currency

1:58 am Seagate Tech announces new $2.5 billion share repurchase authorization (STX) : Co announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company to repurchase up to $2.5 billion of its outstanding ordinary shares. As a result of the April 2015 Authorization, Seagate currently has an aggregate authority to repurchase approximately $3.1 billion of its ordinary shares. Share repurchases under the April 2015 Authorization

1:39 am BE Aerospace beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides FY15 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (BEAV) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.74 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.73; revenues rose 7.0% year/year to $690 mln vs the $699.55 mln consensus.

Guidance:
Co issues downside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of ~$3.03, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.09 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of ~$2.8 bln vs. $2.88 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• Rev guidance is reflecting lower than expected revenues from Russian and defense related end markets and negative impact from Euro denominated sales. This represents the lower end of the $2.8 billion to $2.9 billion prior revenue guidance and reflects high single-digit revenue growth as compared with the prior year.

Commentary: "We have a focused business with leading positions in growing markets and an $8.1 billion record backlog. Our guidance for 2015 is consistent with our expectations of continued revenue growth, earnings growth in excess of revenue growth and strong cash flow generation."

1:21 am Gilead's Harvoni and Sovaldi demonstrate efficacy and safety among chronic Hepatitis C patients with advanced liver disease (GILD) : Co announced results from several Phase 2 clinical studies evaluating investigational uses of Harvoni and other Sovaldi-based regimens for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in patients with advanced liver disease, including patients with decompensated cirrhosis, patients with fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis C (a rare and severe form of the disease following liver transplantation) and patients with portal hypertension.

• Of the 32 genotype 4 patients, 27 (84 percent) achieved SVR12. Additionally, among patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis before and after liver transplantation, virologic response was associated with improvements in Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and CPT scores used to stage end-stage liver disease. 
• The most common adverse events were fatigue, anemia, nausea and headache. Overall, six patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events, five of whom had decompensated cirrhosis. 
• A further subset of the SOLAR-1 and SOLAR-2 studies demonstrated 100 percent SVR12 rates among 11 patients who were confirmed to have fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis, following 12 or 24 weeks of Harvoni plus RBV. FCH is a rare and severe form of recurrent hepatitis that occurs after liver transplantation.
  

1:19 am Gilead Sciences announces data for investigational, all-oral, pan-genotypic three-drug regimen of Sofosbuvir, GS-5816 and GS-9857 for Chronic Hepatitis C (GILD) : Co announced pre-clinical data and results from Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies supporting the development of an investigational all-oral, pan-genotypic regimen of Sovaldi, the investigational NS5A inhibitor GS-5816 and GS-9857, an investigational NS3/4A protease inhibitor.

• In pre-clinical studies, GS-9857 demonstrated similarly potent antiviral activity against HCV replicons of all tested genotypes, as well as an improved resistance profile compared to other HCV protease inhibitors. 
• In a healthy volunteer study, GS-9857 demonstrated a favorable pharmacokinetic profile. 
• Data from a three-day monotherapy study also demonstrated that GS-9857 was well-tolerated and achieved median HCV RNA reductions of more than 3 log10 IU/mL for HCV patients with genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 at the 100 mg dose.
  
  

1:17 am Dassault Systems acquires Modelon GmbH (DASTY) : Co announced its acquisition of Modelon GmbH, expert in "ready-to-experience" content for systems modeling and simulation which are strategic to transform the transportation and mobility industry. With this transaction, Dassault Systmes reinforces its portfolio of industry-leading content, applications and services used in today's age of experience. Terms were not disclosed

1:15 am Tsakos Energy prices 8.75% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares (was upsized to $85 mln) and will issue 3.4 mln Series D Preferred Shares at $25.00 per share. (TNP) :  

12:51 am Unifi beats by $0.07; misses on revs (UFI) : Reports Q3 EPS of $0.47 vs $0.40 Capital IQ consensus; revs of $170.5 mln vs $182.7 mln consensus

• The devaluation of the Brazilian Real adversely affected net sales, and was the principal driver of the $6.4 million net sales decrease, from $176.9 million for the prior year quarter to $170.5 million for the March 2015 quarter. However, higher consolidated sales volumes, as well as higher margins in the Polyester and International Segments, helped yield the strong operating results for the quarter.
  

12:13 am Scynexis prices 4,675,324 shares of its common stock at $7.70 per share (SCYX) :  

12:08 am Ecopetrol announces that the Supreme Court of the Netherlands has ruled in its favor in the Llanos Oil Exploration (EC) : Ecopetrol S.A. informs that on March 18 the Supreme Court of the Netherlands notified the final verdict in favor of Ecopetrol S.A. in the lawsuit filed in 2011 by the Llanos Oil Exploration Ltd. against the company. 

• The Dutch Supreme Court dismissed, without any explanation, Llanos Oil Exploration's cassation appeal against the Court of Appeal and District Court of The Hague decisions, in which they declared that there was no jurisdiction to render judgment on the termination of the Guatapuri association contract occurred on July 23, 2003, termination that originated the lawsuit against Ecopetrol S.A. 
• As a result of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands decision, Llanos Oil Exploration Ltd.'s claim for damages for approximately 7,000 million euros, as a consequence of the termination of the Guatapur association contract by Ecopetrol S.A., loses all legal basis.

12:03 am Viewtran Group announces voluntary delisting from NASDAQ Stock Market (VIEW) : Co announced that it has notified The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC of its intent to delist its common stock from the NASDAQ Stock Market for the following reasons:

• In recent years, the Company has derived only minimal benefits from being listed on NASDAQ 
  
• The Company is planning to sell substantially all of its assets
  

Additionally, that the Company has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to Blueberry Capital Limited, an independent third party, for a purchase price of $70 million.

12:01 am MarkWest Energy increases quarterly cash distribution (MWE) : Co announced that the Board of Directors of the General Partner of MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P., declared a cash distribution of $0.91 per common unit for the first quarter of 2015, for an implied annual rate of $3.64 per common unit. The first quarter 2015 distribution represents an increase of $0.04 per common unit, or 4.6 percent, compared to the first quarter 2014 distribution and an increase of $0.01 per common unit, or 1.1 percent, compared to the fourth quarter 2014 distribution.