Russell 2000 futures fall

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are down and the small-cap index will open lower on news a larger-than-expected decline in durable goods orders.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that orders for durable goods fell 5.3% in January to a seasonally adjusted level of $212.80 billion. Economists were expecting to see a 4% decline following a downwardly revised increase of 4.4% in December.

Durable goods are goods designed to last at least three years.

The Russell 2000 showed that Monday’s rise was no fluke after putting in another solid performance Tuesday, rising 6.86, or 0.97% to 717.32. The rally stalled in the shadow of a little double top reversal from Feb. 14, and that test marks the primary zone to watch heading toward the more dynamic double top at 731.

It will be interesting to see if the Russell 2000 can sustain the positive momentum through this morning’s data – particularly the testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, which will begin to hit the newswires around 10:00 a.m. ET. Look for resistance Wednesday at 723 and 731, with support at 712, 702 and 694.

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• eTelecare Global Solutions, Inc. (ETEL), up 16%.
• New Motion, Inc. (NWMO), up 12%.
• Synovis Life Technologies, Inc. (SYNO), up 9% on news of a rise in fiscal first-quarter income from continuing operations.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Orthofix International N.V. (OFIX), down 12% on news of an unimpressive full year and first quarter of 2008 earnings guidance.
• MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI), down 9%.
• EnerNOC, Inc. (ENOC), down 6% on news of a wider fourth-quarter net loss.

Kevin Pendley contributed to this report.

---