Another good day for small caps; QCCO, PPO and FBN lead gainers

SCI Microbloggers | Dec 03, 2008 4:40pm EST | Comment

Rating: Unrated [rate it]

Small caps closed up about 2% today, outperforming the Dow for the day yet still lagging the big-cap index for 2008, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) off 41%, the Dow down 35% and the S&P 500 down 41%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are QC Holdings (Nasdaq:QCCO), Polypore International (NYSE:PPO) and Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The ADP headline figure suggested the nation lost 250,000 payroll jobs in November, which was below the forecast for a decline of 200,000.
• 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%.
• The ability to rally after a bad reading on the ADP Employment Survey ahead of Friday’s big monthly employment report was a positive sign.
• Yields on Treasury products were higher as demand clearly was more focused on riskier fare today.
• The weekly MBA Mortgage Application index jumped 112% today to the highest level since mid-February, encouraging the rally.
• The ISE Homebuilders Index jumped 10% and small-cap homebuilders were among the best performers in the group.
• Crude slipped $0.17 a barrel to $46.79 and notched 3-1/2-year lows during the U.S. trading session despite a drop in inventory levels.
• Banks, brokerages and other financial firms were clearly a source of strength for stocks today.
• Energy stocks were a drag on stocks for most of the day, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR was basically flat right before the close.

Small Cap Gainers:

• QC Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:QCCO) jumped 54% on a volume spike without any apparent fresh news from the payday loan firm.
• Polypore International Inc. (NYSE:PPO) jumped 31% as the lithium-ion battery company announced that one of their subsidiaries received a $2.3 million contract.
• Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN) closed up about 26% following news on Monday of a new addition to its board.
• WR Grace (NYSE:GRA) finished up 22% after the company’s chairman bought 100,000 shares, VP bought 20,000 shares.

Small Cap Losers:

• Infineon Technologies (NYSE:IFX) sees a widened Q4 loss; shares careened over 41%.
• Fortress Investment Group (NYSE:FIG) announced it will suspend redemptions for now; shares tumbled 25%.
• IIVI Inc. (Nasdaq:IIVI) closed down 20.2% as the electronics and telecommunications manufacturing company revised guidance downward.
• WuXi PharmaTech Inc. (NYSE:WX) slumped 18% as the pharma bio-tech firm with operations in the U.S. and China said Tuesday that its U.S.-based biologics manufacturing will be discontinued.