Brocade (BRCD: chart) shares rose 4.6% after the data-storage company posted better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results and gave a solid guidance for the second quarter. The company earned $33.3 million, or 12 cents per share, on revenue of $224.2 million. Excluding items, the company earned $49.4 million, or 17 cents per share.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL: chart) shares advanced 4.6% amid widespread stock declines around the world, even as the chip maker posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue slightly below expectations. Revenue climbed 27% to $622 million from $489 million a year earlier. The company''s first-quarter outlook for revenue between $640 million and $650 million is also short of average analyst expectations of $651.4 million.

RadioShack Corp. (RSH: chart), electronics retailer, said that its fourth-quarter net income increased to $84.5 million, or 62 cents per share, compared with $51.2 million, or 38 cents per share, earned in the final three months of 2005. The company posted quarterly revenue of $1.46 billion, down from the prior year''s $1.67 billion, as adjusted comparable-store sales dropped 5.5%. Shares climbed 12.6%.

Syneron Medical Ltd. (ELOS: chart) and Procter & Gamble Co. ((PG.N)) said they will jointly develop and market Syneron''s elos-based home-use devices and compositions for the treatment of skin. The electro-optical synergy technology, or elos, uses a combination of electrical energy and optical energy to provide skin rejuvenation treatments. Shares went up 8.6%.

CBRE Realty Finance Inc. (CBF: chart), which operates as a commercial real estate specialty finance company, said that its fourth-quarter net earnings increased to $3.5 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $1.73 million, or 9 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted funds from operations rose to $5.9 million, or 19 cents per share, from $2.5 million, or 13 cents per share, last year. Revenue jumped to $25.6 million versus $8.78 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares fell 18.9%.

Centennial Communications Corp. (CYCL: chart), which provides wireless communications services, said Blackstone Group affiliates will sell 10 million shares of company’s stock in a public offering for $8.05 per share. Shares of the company fell 9.2%.

Dynegy Inc. (DYN: chart), power provider, said that it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss of $58 million, or 12 cents per share. The company recorded a profit of $293 million, or 74 cents per share a year earlier, which included a $690 million gain from discontinued operations. Revenue declined 36.2% to $397 million from $622 million in the year-ago period. Shares declined 6.9%.

Foster Wheeler Ltd. (FWLT: chart) shares dropped 5.3% after the engineering and construction services company said it swung to fourth-quarter net profit of $63 million, or 88 cents per share, from a loss of $122 million, or $2.27 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted net profit reached $85.9 million. Operating revenue nearly doubled to $1.2 billion from $618.5 million last year.

Magna International (MGA: chart) shares fell 6.5% on a bigger-than-expected drop in demand for durable goods, along with concerns about a possible slowdown in economic growth in the U.S. and China. Magna International reported disappointing fourth-quarter results, posted some of the largest losses among the parts manufacturers.

NetEase.com (NTES: chart), Chinese online game operator, posted a higher quarterly net profit as the company said online game revenue beat its own outlook but shares fell 9%.

WebSideStory Inc. (WSSI: chart), provider of digital marketing technology and Web tracking services, posted a fourth-quarter net loss, but adjusted earnings were a penny above Wall Street''s expectations. The company posted a loss of $1.4 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with earnings of $5.6 million, or 28 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Sales rose 55% to $18.2 million from $11.7 million last year.

1:00PM European markets closed steeply lower, hit by China’s decline.
European stocks closed in the red Tuesday, taking a hit from the plunge in the Chinese stock market, led by shares of leading mining companies that do business in Asia. Economic growth concerns in the U.S. also contributed to the declines among mining stocks, with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American all falling by more than 4%. Oil prices pressured oil-sensitive sectors such as travel-related stocks. British Airways slid 3.6% and Deutsche Lufthansa declined 2.9%. Iberia was another decliner, losing 4.2% after the airline''s Q4 net loss widened to 9.5 million euros from 5.8 million euros a year earlier. Elsewhere, German household-products maker Henkel fell 5.7% on strong 2006 profit results. In deal news, Volkswagen slipped 2.4% after the carmaker raised its stake in German truck maker Man AG to 29.9% from approximately 20%. Swedish truck maker Volvo lost 4% after it agreed to buy from Ingersoll-Rand its road-development division for $1.3 billion. The DAX 30 closed down 3% at 6,819.65, the French CAC-40 declined 3% at 5,588.39 and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 slipped 2.3% at 6,286.10.


11:30AM Wall Street fell in depressive mood. All sectors traded in the red.
U.S. market averages suffered considerable weakness on Tuesday morning, with Dow Jones falling as low as 120 points. The blue-chip index was weighed by steep declines in shares of Alcoa (AA: chart), down 3%, Caterpillar (CAT: chart), down 2.4%, Dupont (DD: chart), down 2%, and General Motors (GM: chart), falling 3%. Another Dow component, Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) fell 1.4% after it agreed to acquire 35% of Trust-Mart, a Taiwanese-owned operator of hypermarkets in China. On the Nasdaq, Internet company Baidu.com Inc. (BIDU: chart) dropped 4%, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (SNDA: chart), slipped 3.8%, and Netease.com Inc. (NTES: chart) fell 3.1%. Apple (APPL: chart) also helped push the tech-heavy average lower with a decline of 2.2% after announcing a delay in the launch of Apple TV. Xerox Corp. (XRX: chart) also weighed, falling 1.3% on lowered earnings outlook.

Gold, financials, and real-estate investment trusts led decliners and only individual stocks traded higher. Brocade Communications (BRCD: chart) rose 5% after posting earnings above expectations. Better-than-expected existing homes sales and a rise in consumer confidence failed to offset the negative sentiment generated by a steeper-than-expected drop in durable goods orders in January, but helped limit losses. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 142.28, or 1.13%, to 12,489.98. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 17.36, or 1.20%, at 1,432.01, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 42.41, or 1.69%, at 2,462.11.

Existing home sales rose more than expected.
Tuesday morning, the National Association of Realtors released its report on existing home sales in the month of January. The report showed that existing home sales rose much more than economists had expected. The report showed that existing home sales rose 3.0 percent to a 6.46 million unit rate in January from a revised 6.27 million unit rate in December. Economists had expected sales to rise to a 6.24 million unit rate compared to the 6.22 million unit rate originally reported for the previous month. NAR also said that total housing inventory levels rose 2.9 percent to 3.55 million existing homes available for sale at the end of January. This represents a 6.6-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from the revised December level. The report also showed that the national median existing-home price for all housing types fell to $210,600 in January. With the decrease, the median price is down 3.1 percent year-over-year.


9:45AM U.S. stocks opened deeply in the red. The Dow tumbled 130 points
Wall Street opened deeply in the red on Tuesday, joining a global stock decline amid concerns of slowing economies in China and the U.S. A 10% drop in Chinese stocks, a warning that the U.S. economy may be headed for a recession, and weak data on durable goods orders exacerbated concerns about the economy. The Dow Industrial average dropped about 130 points in early trading. Blue-chip company Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) contributed to the decline, falling 0.9% after it agreed to buy 35% of Trust-Mart, a Taiwanese-owned operator of hypermarkets in China. The tech sector posted weakness, with Apple (APPL: chart) down 2.4% after announcing a delay in the launch of Apple TV. Xerox Corp. (XRX: chart) lost 2.2% after the company lowered its earnings outlook.

Brokerage stocks showed significant weakness, with Lehman Brothers (LEH: chart) turning in one of the sector''s worst performances, down 4.3%. Jefferies (JEF: chart), E*Trade (ETFC: chart), and Bear Stearns (BSC: chart) all slipped more that 3%. Considerable weakness was also visible in the wireless and disk drive sectors. Housing stocks also declined, despite better-than-expected existing home sales data.

Among stocks driven by analyst comments, shares of Marvel Entertainment (MVL: chart) slipped 4% on brokerage downgrade, due to concerns about the stock''s valuation. Shares of NYSE Group (NYX: chart) fell 3% after J.P. Morgan downgraded its rating on the operator of the New York Stock Exchange to underweight from neutral. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY: chart) slipped 2.4% after UBS downgraded its rating on the home furnishings retailer, citing valuation. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 122.57, or 0.97%, to 12,509.69. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 16.87, or 1.16%, to 1,431.41, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 46.07, or 1.84%, to 2,458.45. Bond prices rose as investors bought into the safe-haven Treasury market, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropping to 4.60% from 4.63% late Monday.