Solid start

Small-cap stocks rang in the first day of trading in 2009 with a solid, albeit light-volume advance, fueled by steep gains in energy shares, and an impressive showing from retail and technology stocks. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) gained 6.37, or 1.27% to 505.82, the highest daily close since November 5.

The Dow was up 2.94% on the day, while the S&P 500 was up 3.16%, so the big-cap outperformance was a little bit of a sign that the market is still in a wary frame of mind, especially with a January seasonal that tends to favor small-cap stocks. That said, there were no new 52-week lows on small-cap stocks with market caps between $100 million and $2 billion, which is fairly unusual.

Energy stocks hit the ground running this year, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund soaring nearly 6%. Crude oil prices were up 3.9%, rising $1.74 dollar a barrel to $46.34, which was a big reversal of fortune from a $2-dollar slide in European trading overnight. Violence in the Gaza Strip and tension between Russia and Ukraine were supportive elements in play on the cash crude side of things.

In addition to energy, other commodity themes were attractive plays for investors ...

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