Russell stages triumphant weekly recovery
Small-cap stocks pushed lower, pulled down by losses in the tech sector and profit-taking from traders who caught the recovery rally off the lows. Today’s action represented a relatively calm finish to a frantic, volatile week that saw equities recover from the doorstep of desperation. For Friday, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 3.54, or 0.51%, at 693.08.
Despite the modest pullback today, small caps closed out the week with a gain of 18.13, or 2.68%, which is no small accomplishment considering the market made four-month lows on Tuesday when panic about the solvency of government-sponsored mortgage lenders hit a crescendo. At one point earlier this week, there seemed to be a swelling sense of doom about potential systemic risk within the entirety of the financial system, so the dramatic bounce off the lows swept in an important calming influence into things. What’s more, the nice rally off those lows turned the chart picture from a bear market path into a potential bullish reversal, which is an encouraging signal.
As for today’s action, financial stocks continued to seduce investors back into the fold, with the financial SPDR rising 3.5% despite the pullback in other sectors. Clearly, tech stocks were out of favor with stock market traders today, as soft earnings from key players such as Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) and Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) overwhelmed bright spots such as IBM Inc. (NYSE:IBM). For the day, GOOG was down 9.7% and MSFT lost 6%.
Crude oil prices actually closed out Friday in negative territory after spending most of the session in the green, which kept a lid on buying enthusiasm in small caps throughout much of the day. Crude oil prices collapsed some 15% off last week’s record highs, which should bring some relief at the gas pump for consumers if prices will only stay contained looking forward. Although a late wave of selling pulled crude oil lower on the day, there was some reluctance to press . . .
Despite the modest pullback today, small caps closed out the week with a gain of 18.13, or 2.68%, which is no small accomplishment considering the market made four-month lows on Tuesday when panic about the solvency of government-sponsored mortgage lenders hit a crescendo. At one point earlier this week, there seemed to be a swelling sense of doom about potential systemic risk within the entirety of the financial system, so the dramatic bounce off the lows swept in an important calming influence into things. What’s more, the nice rally off those lows turned the chart picture from a bear market path into a potential bullish reversal, which is an encouraging signal.
As for today’s action, financial stocks continued to seduce investors back into the fold, with the financial SPDR rising 3.5% despite the pullback in other sectors. Clearly, tech stocks were out of favor with stock market traders today, as soft earnings from key players such as Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) and Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) overwhelmed bright spots such as IBM Inc. (NYSE:IBM). For the day, GOOG was down 9.7% and MSFT lost 6%.
Crude oil prices actually closed out Friday in negative territory after spending most of the session in the green, which kept a lid on buying enthusiasm in small caps throughout much of the day. Crude oil prices collapsed some 15% off last week’s record highs, which should bring some relief at the gas pump for consumers if prices will only stay contained looking forward. Although a late wave of selling pulled crude oil lower on the day, there was some reluctance to press . . .
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