Small caps crumble on bad housing data; RADS, SBX and SPNC lead gainers

Stocks slid sharply today on weak housing data released this morning and on further stress in the financial sector as investors remain doubtful about the U.S. government’s bank plans. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Radiant Systems (Nasdaq:RADS), SeaBright Insurance Holdings (NYSE:SBX) and The Spectranetics Corporation (Nasdaq:SPNC).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 11.04, or 2.68%, to 401.44 at closing.
• The Dow fell 1.09%, and the S&P 500 was down 1.07% at closing.
• For the year, the Russell is now down 19.62%, while the Dow is down 17.15% and the S&P 500 is down 15.32%.
• New data out this morning showed January existing home sales fell by 5.3%, to an annual rate of 4.49M last month from 4.74M in December. This is the lowest level in nearly 12 years.
• The Mortgage Bankers Association released today that U.S. mortgage applications fell last week, reflecting a sharp drop in demand for refinancing as mortgage rates ticked higher.
• The Obama administration has begun making the 20 largest U.S. banks — including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) — undergo "stress tests" today to see if any can weather further recessionary pressure.
• An industry association said this morning that China plans to build up a "Big 10" group of globally competitive automakers, led by General Motors partner Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp.
• A new report out says that American International Group may scrap its plan to repay a $60 billion U.S. government loan by selling businesses, according to Bloomberg. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Radiant System shares rose 20% on a better-than-expected Q4 profit. See (Nasdaq:RADS).
• SeaBright Insurance Holdings closed up over 15% on an FBR upgrade and a Q4 EPS that beat estimates. See (NYSE:SBX).
• The Spectranetics Corporation climbed 11% and pared some major losses seen Tuesday when the small cap reported a widened Q4 loss. See . . .

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