Small caps close in the green

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Friday, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rising 4.81, or 0.67%, to 721.88, which marked the highest daily close since Feb. 13. The market had a teeter-totter session, opening higher on earnings news and a firm dollar, then slumping on consumer sentiment jitters and soaring crude oil before staging the afternoon recovery.

Crude oil futures climbed to a record intraday peak Friday at $119.90 per barrel, lifted by supply concerns tied to worker strikes in Nigeria and the North Sea. The supply side concerns were complemented by news of warning shots fired on boats in the Gulf thought to be Iranian, underscoring tensions right now between the United States and Iran.

The market appeared set for a comfortable morning rise early today, but then the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey cast a pall over buyer enthusiasm. The Michigan headline report came out at 62.6, down from 69.5 the previous month, and at the lowest April reading in 26 years. The dour consumer mood sparked a wave of selling across equity products, but the slide never really took hold and stocks were able to recover in the afternoon despite the Michigan survey and spiking crude values.

Speaking of economic data, this week’s report front was the quiet before next week’s storm. Not only will investors have to navigate a frothy sea of economic data risk —  highlighted by Friday’s employment report — but the FOMC meeting Tuesday afternoon could trigger a dramatic market response as everyone struggles to read the Federal Reserve “tea leaves” to see if the end of the easing cycle is nigh.

Back to today’s action, equities likely found some support tied to a solid performance in the U.S. dollar, which climbed about 0.6% against the euro, and was up nearly 0.3% against the yen. The fact that the greenback held onto gains versus the euro despite the jump in crude oil was impressive, as most of the time in recent . . .

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