Early pullback for small caps on techs, energy, weak private jobs report

Kevin Pendley | Dec 03, 2008 10:13am EST | Comment

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Small-cap stocks took a dive on the opening, pulled down by slumping technology shares in Europe and in the United States and by a bruising private report on employment which sent shivers through the market ahead of Friday’s big monthly jobs report. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 8.93, or 2.02%, at 432.89.

Shares in Europe were pressured by sloppy earnings for Infineon, the second-largest semiconductor maker across the pond. Here in the United States, tech bellwether Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq:RIMM), makers of those nifty Blackberry units, tumbled 5% early today after revealing preliminary profit results that were disappointing. RIMM set fresh 52-week lows this morning and the stock is down 75% from the June peak.

In addition, retail sales missed the forecast in the eurozone and a report on services sector activity also disappointed. Speaking of services sector numbers, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey came out at 10:00 a.m. ET, with the headline figure at 37.3%, which was way below the forecast of 42.8%.

Elsewhere on the data front, the productivity report came in better than expected this morning, but was overshadowed by the ADP survey and the ISM release. Also, the weekly MBA Mortgage Application survey jumped 11% as prospective home buyers were enticed by a slide in mortgage rates (was this report part of the “story” behind Tuesday’s big rise in homebuilder stocks)?

Crude oil prices were relatively stable early this morning, hovering near Tuesday’s closing levels. The downside of that story (at least for energy companies) is that Tuesday’s close was at three-year lows. Big-cap energy firm Slumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB) issued a warning right before the opening that 2008 results will miss analyst expectations, which could ripple throughout the energy spectrum today. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was off 2.6% shortly after the open, while SLB shares were down 7.8%.

Another big story on the commodities front was Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX) as the big-cap miner tumbled some 20% this morning after the firm announced it would suspend dividends and reduce output. There are plenty of small-cap mining and commodity stocks that will shudder at the news from group leader FCX. Physical commodity markets were taking a beating early today, including cocoa and sugar, which were both down more than 3%.

Individual small caps of note this morning included IIVI Inc. (Nasdaq:IIVI), which was off 15% as the electronics and telecommunications manufacturing company revised guidance downward. Omnivision Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:OVTI) slipped 13% as the image sensor maker received an earning lump. On the upside, Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE:DLM) rallied 15% after the firm topped the earnings forecast and raised guidance. RC2 Corporation (Nasdaq:RCRC) rallied 9% as the toy and collectibles maker pushed back above the 20-day moving average.

Looking at the chart picture, the manic movement in the Russell so far this week is actually supportive in a perverse way because we tend to see heightened volatility at major turning points. Still, you can pretty much put a rectangle around Monday’s high and Tuesday’s low and wait for the market to break free of that boundary to set a bigger move into motion. As for today’s trading, look for support at 424.50 and then at 416.50. Meanwhile, resistance comes in at 442, 452.50 and 464.