Aspen Technology Inc. (AZPN: chart) Shares of Aspen Technology soared over 24% after company’s second-quarter revenue beat market expectations led by a 45% jump in license sales. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $96.4 million, up 26% from last year. Aspen said income from operations came in at $25.8 million in the quarter.

Brooks Automation (BRKS: chart) said that it swung to a profit in the first quarter, as income was boosted by a pair of acquisitions and brisk sales at company’s core hardware automation business. The company reported first-quarter profit of $22.1 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $11.7 million, or 18 cents per share. Excluding certain items, non-GAAP earnings in the most recent quarter were 35 cents per share. The revenue for the first quarter increased 76% to $191.4 million versus $108.5 million a year ago. Shares of the company rose 11.7%.

Consolidated Graphics Inc. (CGX: chart), printing facilities operator, said that its third-quarter net income increased to $16.4 million, or $1.17 per share, compared with $9.9 million, or 71 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Sales jumped to $269.6 million versus $226.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares climbed 11.5%.

Intevac (IVAC: chart) Shares of Intevac soared 24% after the maker of disk-drive manufacturing equipment posted fourth-quarter results that blew past estimates. The company said that its fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to $21.3 million, or 97 cents per share, compared with year-earlier earnings of $9.93 million, or 46 cents per share, helped by higher sales and a larger margin. Results included a $1.1 million reversal of tax costs.

Multi-Fineline Electronix (MFLX: chart) The circuit board maker''s fiscal first-quarter profit came in below Wall Street''s expectation but analysts suggested the company''s revenue had hit a low point. First-quarter earnings fell 79% to $3.65 million, or 14 cents per share, from $17.3 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier, hurt by price reductions and reduced sales. Sales fell 11% to $123.9 million from $139.7 million from the year-ago period. Shares were up 17.2%.

USANA Health Sciences Inc. (USNA: chart), maker of nutrition and personal care products, said that its fourth-quarter net profit increased to $11.1 million, or 61 cents per share, compared with $10.5 million, or 54 cents per share, last year. Revenue climbed 16.5% to $99.8 million versus $85.6 million in the same period a year ago. Shares soared 9.9%.

Genomic Health Inc. (GHDX: chart), biotechnology company, posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $9 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $8.22 million, or 34 cents per share, last year. Revenue increased to $8.62 million against $1.93 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Shares fell 7.1%.

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. (TRMP: chart) shares fell after casino operator, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $9.7 million, or 31 cents per share, narrower than a year-ago loss of $22.1 million, or 73 cents per share. On a continuing operations basis, the Atlantic City, N.J., casino operator lost $10.3 million, or 33 cents per share, in the latest quarter. Net revenue climbed to $244.2 million versus $234.7 million a year earlier.

1:00PM European markets closed higher, boosted by BHP Billiton and Infineon.
European stocks closed in the green territory on Wednesday, boosted by strong earnings reports and buyback news from mining giant BHP Billiton. Gains posted by Infineon Technologies and continued deal speculation in the utility sector also generated upbeat sentiment. BHP Billiton was a notable advancer, rising 5.5% in London after it reported 41% profit growth and announced a surprise $10 billion share buyback. In the tech sector, shares in Infineon Technologies rose more than 10% after the German chipmaker said it received a contract to supply chips for Nokia. Among utility stocks, E.On shares rose 1% after the board of Endesa approved E.On''s offer of 38.75 euros a share. The gains in Germany spread through the European utility sector, with Spanish utilities Union Fenosa rising 4% and Iberdrola gaining 2.7% in Madrid amid continued deal talk. In earnings-inspired gains, shares in French advertising group Publicis climbed 5% amid 4.8% revenue growth. British Airways was in focus, rising 4.7% after Merrill Lynch upgraded the airline to buy from neutral. The DAX 30 gained 0.6% at 6,915.56, the French CAC-40 rose 0.5% to 5,703.00 and the the U.K. FTSE 100 rose 0.4% at 6,369.50.

Crude oil prices hovered round $59 a barrel after weekly petroleum report. Light, sweet crude March delivery rose 7 cents to $58.95 a barrel. Heating oil added to $1.6960 a gallon, while gasoline rose to $1.5739. London Brent was unchanged at $58.42. The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3009, up from $1.2978. The dollar bought 120.72 yen, up from 120.08. The British pound was quoted at $1.9689, down from $1.9704. European gold prices advanced. In London, gold traded at $654.90 per troy ounce, up from $652.03. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $653.70 per ounce, up from $649.60. Silver closed at $13.72, up from $13.57.


11:30AM The Dow Jones Industrial average topped 12,700.
U.S. stock averages traded higher, boosted by retreating oil prices and solid gains in the tech sector. The Dow topped 12,700 for the first time, reflecting a robust sales forecast from Cisco Systems Inc. and a stronger-than-expected productivity growth. The blue-chip average was lifted by gains for Caterpillar (CAT: chart), up 1.6%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: chart), up 1.1%, and Intel (INTC: chart), also up 1.1%. However, losses posted by Pfizer (PFE: chart) and Alcoa (AA: chart) helped to limit the upside for the blue-chip average.

The tech sector was led higher by Cisco Systems (CSCO: chart) which rose 4% amid better-than-expected results and lifted revenue and profit guidance. Further support was provided by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN: chart), rising 1% after it announced it is partnering with TiVo Inc. (TIVO: chart) to offer movies and TV shows. Following the news, shares in TiVo gained 5%. At the same time, Texas Instruments (TXN: chart) was down 1.4%, after Infineon Technologies (IFX: chart) said it received a contract to supply chips for Nokia Corp. phones. Infineon climbed 11%. In late morning trading, the Dow rose 21.07, or 0.17 percent, to 12,687.38. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 3.68, or 0.25%, at 1,451.68, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 20.25, or 0.82%, to 2,491.74. Bonds rose following the economic data, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.76% from 4.77% late Tuesday.

Crude oil inventories declined.
Government data released Wednesday showed that crude oil inventories edged lower in the most recent week, halting a recent streak of gains. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories continued to rise, and distillate stockpiles recorded another slide. The Department of Energy''s Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories slipped 400,000 barrels in the week ended February 2. Specifically, the measure dipped to 324.5 million barrels from the previous week''s level of 324.9 million barrels. This followed a recent streak of gains, including an increase of 2.7 million barrels in the previous week. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories showed a week-over-week increase of 2.6 million barrels. The extended recent gains, including a rise of 3.8 million barrels in the previous week. The level of gasoline inventories was 2.2% above last year. Meanwhile, distillate fuel oil had an inventory decline during the week ended February 2. Stockpiles of these products, which include heating oil, slipped by 3.7 million barrels. This added to a decline of 2.6 million barrels recorded in the previous week.


9:45AM Market opened higher, lifted by tech rally.
U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, benefiting from strength in the technology sector largely contributed by 3.5% gain for Cisco Systems (CSCO: chart) on the back of strong earnings and a higher sales forecast. Amazon.com (AMZN: chart) also helped, rising 1% after it announced it is partnering with TiVo (TIVO: chart) to offer movies and TV shows. TiVo shares gained 5%. Infineon Technologies (IFX: chart) rose 8% after the German chip maker received a contract to supply chips for Nokia. The Dow Jones Industrial average was supported by 1.1% rise for Caterpillar Inc (CAT: chart) and 0.6% rise by the shares of IBM (IBM: chart).

In earnings-related news, Whirlpool (WHR: chart) fell 2.5% after the appliance maker reported a 14% profit decline on discontinued operations. Net income dropped to $1.37 per share, compared with $1.83 per share last year, missing estimates. Restaurant chain Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE: chart) shares traded down 2.5%, due to al 9% profit drop in Q4 because of compensation charges and higher operating costs. Net income slipped to 26 cents per share from 28 cents per share in the prior year period. Cigna Corp. (CI: chart) stock rose nearly 1% after the company''s adjusted earnings per share beat expectations.

News Corp (NWS: chart) rose 1.7% after the media company reported Q2 net income decline. FEI Co (FEIC: chart) jumped above 16% after the maker of special microscopes to analyze semiconductors swung to a Q4 profit on higher sales, beating estimates. Among other early movers, New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU: chart) climbed 8%. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 5.61, or 0.04%, to 12,671.92. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 1.45, or 0.10%, at 1,449.45, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.17, or 0.33%, to 2,479.66.

Fourth-quarter productivity grew at a faster pace.
Wednesday morning, the Department of Labor released its preliminary report on labor productivity in the fourth quarter, showing that productivity grew at a faster pace than economists had been expecting. The report showed that productivity grew 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter compared to a revised 0.1 percent decline in the third quarter. Economists had expected 2.0 percent productivity growth compared to the 0.2 percent growth originally reported for the previous quarter. The strong productivity growth came as an increase in output outpaced an increase in hours by a large margin. The report showed that output grew 4.2 percent, while hours edged up by a much more modest 1.2 percent. For the third quarter, output growth was revised down to 1.9 percent from 2.3 percent, while the increase in hours was revised to 2.0 percent compared to the 2.1 percent growth originally reported.

The report also showed that unit labor costs rose by 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared to an upwardly revised 3.2 percent increase in the third quarter. Unit labor cost growth in the third quarter was originally reported at 2.3 percent. The Labor Department also said that labor productivity for all of 2006 rose 2.1 percent following a 2.3 percent increase in 2005. The productivity growth represented the slowest pace of growth since a 1.6 percent increase in 1997. Additionally, unit labor costs for the year rose 3.2 percent compared to a 2 percent increase in 2005, marking the fastest pace of unit labor cost growth since a 4.2 percent increase in 2000.