Small caps closed up nearly 2%, embracing the Fed’s rate cut, a thaw in credit markets and a bounce in commodity-tied stocks. Today’s small-cap gainers are Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SVNT), Savvis (Nasdaq:SVVS) and Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq:HERO).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The rate cut by the Fed coincides with global easing; just last night, central bank officials in China cut rates by 0.27% and European leaders hinted that further rate cuts are possible. 
• It’s possible that the bulls were corralled a little bit today, leery to take a big bullish stand ahead of Thursday’s GDP report.
• Commodities were a key part of the story today, which may explain some of the relative strength in small caps, which have shown a tendency to more closely track commodity trends in recent weeks.
• Crude oil prices jumped some 9%, or more than $5 a barrel, bolstered by oversold conditions and a slide in the U.S. dollar, which tumbled some 1.4% against the euro.
• Copper has soared some 14%, which is particularly interesting because copper is often seen as a proxy for economic activity around the globe. Copper has collapsed in recent weeks, but a stabilization in that market would be a positive sign for the global economy.

Small Cap Gainers:

• BioMimetic Therapeutics reports promising clinical results using injectable bone graft. Shares close up 21%. See (Nasdaq:BMTI).  
• Tessera Technologies shares surged 30% after arbitration ruling. See (Nasdaq:TSRA).  
• Savient Pharmaceuticals announces data in treatment-failure gout patients; shares closed up 47% on heavy volume. See (Nasdaq:SVNT).  
• Rocky Brands doubles Q3 profit on higher margins, shares skyrocketed 25%. See (Nasdaq:RCKY).  
• Silver Standard Resources reported Q3 results Tuesday, stock price closed up 32%. See (Nasdaq:SSRI).  
• Hercules Offshore profit falls in Q3. Shares rallied 34%. See (Nasdaq:HERO).  
• Savvis reported a narrower-than-expected loss in Q3, affirmed full-year revenue guidance. Shares closed up 35%. (Nasdaq:SVVS)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Atlas Pipeline slumped 24% ahead of Q3 earnings release. See (NYSE:AHD).
• Vocus continues to give up ground this afternoon, falling 24% at closing. See (Nasdaq:VOCS).  
• Clean Energy to raise $35M in direct offering of common stock and warrants with select institutional investors. Shares slipped 23%. (Nasdaq:CLNE).  
• Wright Express substantially lowers Q4 and full-year guidance below the Street on fuel-price-related derivatives. Shares drop 24%. See (NYSE:WXS).  
• CTS Corp. posts lower Q3 EPS, but EPS still beat the Street. Revenues declined from last year and missed estimates; shares closed down 30%. See (NYSE:CTS).