Small caps lead the way up

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) led a mid-session rally that lifted stocks into positive territory, reversing a bearish morning. The small-cap index gained 11.29 points, or 1.41%, to 810.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 44.95 points, or 0.33%, to 13,566.97.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has increased 2.88%, while the Dow has added 8.76%.

Small-cap futures were pointing south and stocks opened in the red on news of an economic slowdown. The finance ministers and central bankers from the G7, the world’s top seven industrialized countries, said over the weekend that U.S. economic growth is in for a slowdown due to tighter credit, the housing slump and the high price of oil.

Just before 10 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had slipped below a level of 790, but then managed to tentatively approach the flat line before finally settling on an upward trajectory at around 12 p.m. ET. The Dow was more volatile and without a clear direction until just before the close.

Helping the bulls was the technology sector, as investors saw a buying opportunity on expectations of strong third-quarter earnings ahead of the release of Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) third-quarter numbers after the closing.

Small-cap software firm Synplicity Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNP) defied those projections, reporting a slight decline in its third-quarter profit.

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