National City jumps on possible sale

Canadian Solar secures sales contract with Germany’s Systaic

Quest Software jumps on new CEO appointment, $400M buyback

Ceradyne inks $73 million order for body armor plates

The Cato Corp. posts 3% decline in September same store sales

The Children's Place gains 4.5% on flat September sales

The Bon-Ton Stores tumble to new 52-week low as borrowing increases

Liz Claiborne slides 3.7% on partnership end

Lindsay Corp. tumbles 5.4% on uncertain outlook despite strong Q4

Netgear hits new 52-week low on lower Q3 forecast

Stewart Enterprises plunges to new 52-week low as SCI pulls plug on acquisition

TEL Offshore Trust plummets to new 52-week low on Hurricane Ike impact

The Wet Seal climbs 5% on Q3 guidance despite lower sales

Stein Mart dips to new 52-week low on decreased September sales

LDK Solar rises 9% on improved Q3 guidance

F5 Networks up 3.6% on higher Q4 earning target

Hardinge tumbles 12% on analyst downgrade

Landry's Restaurants down 12% as CEO buyout in question

China Medical Technologies rises 8.5% on buy of HPV detection system

G&K Services sinks to new 52-week low on lowered Q1 guidance

Converted Organics rises 11% on order from Puerto Rican firm

Sonus slips 10% due to projected drop in Q3, '08 revenue

PeopleSupport plunges 19% as Essar asks to push out merger

Taleo dips 8% to new 52-week low on analyst downgrade

Fred's posts 1.1% uptick in comparable store sales, lowers Q3 earnings outlook

Retail, financial, homebuilders lift small caps past weak data

The market rallied into midday trading as a rush for homebuilder stocks paced the comeback move.

Small caps reverse direction; shrug off bad econ data

Homebuilder stocks were in rally mode Tuesday and remained a hot item today.

Early pullback for small caps on techs, energy, weak private jobs report

In addition, retail sales missed the forecast in the eurozone and a report on services sector activity also disappointed.

Lower open on tap as techs limping, Europe weakness

Stock index futures were off about 2.2% in pre-market trading, which suggests the Russell 2000 will open near 433.

Two steps back, one step forward for small caps

Strength today stemmed from short-term oversold conditions, hope for a rescue bail-out of automakers as well as bargain hunting in financial and homebuilder shares.