Modest bounce after Monday rout; watching auto news

Small-cap stocks jumped higher on the opening, a welcome sign after the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) suffered the largest one-day loss of the year on Monday. Buying interest was stirred by optimism for a bail-out of beleaguered U.S. automakers, anticipation for another round of global rate cuts and just a plain old oversold bounce after Mondays’s rout. At 9:57 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 was up 5.14, or 1.23%, at 422.21.

Investor eyes will be on our nation’s capital today as auto industry executives gather in Washington with hands held out begging for a rescue package to avert potential failure. In a turnabout from last month’s embarrassment when the executives showed up on their chartered jets asking for taxpayer money, this time around the top dog at General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) said he was willing to work for just $1. CEOs from the Big 3 also were either flying commercial or driving to Capital Hill. The general perception is that after some browbeating, lawmakers will come up with an aid package for automakers in the $25 billion range. Shortly after the open, GM stock was up 6%, while Ford was up 5%.

Today’s meetings in Washington will coincide with monthly figures for vehicle sales, which are expected to be among the worst in a quarter-century. Overnight, news on the auto front was bad around the world, with new vehicle registrations in Germany down 17% for the month of November and down 28% in South Africa. Toyota and Tata (India’s top carmaker) announced plans to slash annual production to avoid building up inventory of unsold vehicles.

Financial shares were in bounce mode this morning after getting absolutely hammered Monday. Investors were hopeful for another round of global rate cuts to stimulate the world out of recession. The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed 100 basis points off their benchmark rate last night, which was much more aggressive than expected. In addition, the Bank of Japan expanded lending, and rate cuts are expected out of the United Kingdom, eurozone and New Zealand soon, and out of Sweden . . .

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