The Nasdaq Composite Index, which is composed of technology related stocks, dipped 0.31% falling to 2169.18 points. Despite strong gains from some technology companies, the index was weighed down by losses from Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) , Brocade Communications Systems, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) .

Dell Inc. fell 3.18% to $14.32 a share. Oracle Corp. shares also dropped as it fell to $22.14 to lose 2.04% from previous day’s market close. EMC Corp., the majority holder of WMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) , fell 1.17% to $16.94. IBM also dropped slightly, falling 0.21% to $127.93 a share. One of the largest losses came from Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) with losses of 8.95%. Brocade communications dropped after rumors that they were looking for buyers. Top executives from Brocade did confirm that they were looking to grow through Partnerships.

The fall from these stocks were countered to a small degree by the strong showing from Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TI) which rose 0.56% to $25.28 a share. Texas Instruments is showing major signs of improvement after seeing demand begins to broaden out as their strategy to focus on analog/embedded devices paid off.

One of the largest gainers for the day was Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) with gains of 6.44% to reach $29.74 a share. Analog Devices Inc. made use of better than expected earning to surge through the market today. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) gained 0.13% to $583.09. Google Inc. recently acquired start up company, Teracent, to inject new life to their display ad business.

Salesforce.com (CRM) entered into a number of strategic alliances that are expected to enhance the cloud computing service and solutions offered by it.
 
The first among these strategic alliances is with enterprise IT management company CA Inc. (CA). This partnership is expected to deliver agile development management in the cloud on the Force.com platform.
 
The CA Agile Planner on the Force.com site is targeted at small businesses and enterprises alike. The service is intended to accelerate development timelines while gaining control and visibility over all of the development initiatives. This innovative product will result in reduced time to market.
 
The second in the list is the agreement with BMC Software (BMC). This strategic alliance is expected to deliver BMC’s industry-leading IT management solutions on the Force.com platform. The joint offering is expected to address the overwhelming customer demand for critical service desk function and processes that are delivered through the cloud computing platform.
 
This new product is intended to help customers simplify and automate their IT process and at the same time fetch a quick return on their investment. These new collaborations are expected to help the company strengthen its position in the cloud computing market and attract additional customers by providing enhanced solutions.
 
Salesforce reported better than expected third quarter results, exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The company reported revenue of $330.5 million, an increase of 20.0% from the year-ago quarter and and over the guided range of $323-324 million. These encouraging numbers are illustrative of the fact that the company is constantly creating value for itself and its shareholders. We expect Saleforce to continue with the same trend going forward.
 
Although the company is growing exponentially in the cloud computing segment, Salesforce is expected to face stiff competition from big companies such as Microsoft (MSFT), Oracle (ORCL), International Business Machine (IBM), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Google (GOOG) as each vies for a position in the market.
Read the full analyst report on "CRM"
Read the full analyst report on "CA"
Read the full analyst report on "BMC"
Read the full analyst report on "MSFT"
Read the full analyst report on "ORCL"
Read the full analyst report on "IBM"
Read the full analyst report on "HPQ"
Read the full analyst report on "GOOG"
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How much more upside potential is there after a 67% monster rally for the technology sector?  After all, there are resistance levels the market tends to respect. With slashed semiconductor demand, weak earnings reports from Dell, and an uncertain holiday shopping season ahead, is the tech sector overvalued?[More...]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Tech stocks fell Tuesday morning, following Monday's rally, as shares of Brocade Communications plunged sharply after issuing a weaker-than-expected forecast.

Oracle (NasdaqNM: ORCL) closed yesterday at $22.60. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $13.80 and 52-week high of $22.95. Oracle stock has been showing support around 22.32 and resistance in the 22.86 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives ORCL a neutral 3 STAR (out of 5)...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

A more engaged subcontinent is worth watching.

Value Expectations submits:

The Applied Finance Group (AFG) has a disciplined approach for identifying companies that are expected to outperform and underperform the market by using proprietary metrics and measurements that have been tested and proven through time. Because AFG’s research is fundamentally derived, AFG’s quantitative analysis spans across growth and value stocks, all sectors, industries, and market caps with over 20,000 covered securities globally.

When searching for Large-Cap ideas, AFG’s Buy/Sell list is a good starting place as it has proven to create a significant spread in performance between companies that come up on AFG’s buy list and those on the sell list. Further focusing on companies based on AFG’s proprietary screening criteria (Economic Margin, valuation, quality of earnings, and management’s ability to create shareholder wealth) will save investors time in their research process. The result is a target group of stocks that can help you outperform as well as identify potential torpedoes to avoid in your portfolios.

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Markets generally adopted a slightly more defensive tone on Friday. In the US, utilities and consumer stables managed small gains, but financials, consumer cyclicals and IT fell.[More...]

Technology stocks advance across the board , riding a wave of broader market optimism as gold and other commodities rise sharply and the dollar retreats against most rival currencies.

Jefferies brews up an upgrade for Starbucks.

A showdown over who knows stocks better.

A harsh reminder of why business-focused investing is the only strategy for your long-term dollars.

Oracle (NasdaqNM: ORCL) closed yesterday at $22.34. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $13.80 and 52-week high of $22.95. Oracle stock has been showing support around 22.09 and resistance in the 22.51 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives ORCL a neutral 3 STAR (out of 5)...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

Market-lagging returns could be written in this stock.

The European Commission EC is granting Oracle a one-week extension to its deadline for the approval of its proposed USD7.4bn merger with Sun Microsystems. The deadline is now January 27. Oracle requested the extension because of the disruption caused by Thanksgiving to business schedules. ...

Chuck Carnevale submits:

Market Generalities

When reading Seeking Alpha Friday, I couldn’t help notice that the most popular article was: Why the Stock Market Should Crash, by Charles Hugh Smith. With all due respect to Mr. Smith, and all the other doomsayers out there, I frankly just don’t get it. In my opinion, fear is a negative emotion that causes more harm than good. My favorite acronym for FEAR is: False Evidence Appearing Real.

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Oracle and SpringSource have teamed up to propose a new Eclipse project called "Enterprise Modules" and code-named Project Gemini, "to provide a home for subprojects that integrate existing Java enterprise technologies into module-based platforms," the proposal said. According to the proposal, released on Nov. 20, "Gemini will be a parent...