Russell 2000 closes with razor-thin gain

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) managed a miniscule last-minute rise despite news of a weak government jobs report. The small-cap index climbed 0.16 points, or 0.02%, to 713.73, its fifth consecutive rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.61 points, or 0.13%, to 12,609.42.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 6.83%, while the Dow is down 4.94% and the S&P 500 is off 6.67%.

Small-cap stocks began the day in the red following news before the opening that payrolls fell by a larger-than-expected 80,000 in March, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The same report also revised higher the job losses from the previous two months.

The March unemployment rate rose to 5.1%, the highest level in more than two years, from 4.8% in February.

“The job loss numbers today make it all but certain that the economy entered a recession in the first quarter,” said Arun Raha, vice president of economic research and consulting for the North American operations of reinsurance company . . .

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