Russell opens lower; FSYS, AGNC, and FLOW lead gainers

Small-cap stocks pushed lower, pressured by concerns about corporate profits, worries about late holiday spending results and ongoing jitters about the economy and the credit crisis. Losses were limited by optimism about stimulus plans for 2009 and persistent bargain hunting from market watchers who believe the bottom has already been made.  Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Fuel Systems Solutions (Nasdaq:FSYS), American Capital Agency (Nasdaq:AGNC) and Flow International (Nasdaq:FLOW).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

•Even though chipmakers were higher in European trading, tech stocks were underperforming both the Dow and small caps.  
• Citigroup analysts said that they remain underweight on utilities, autos and real estate investment trusts.
• The greenback remained down against the euro, which could underpin various commodity markets today.  
• Copper prices rose 4% in London trading, bolstered by a dip in the U.S. dollar vs. the euro & by news of a jump in China imports during November.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Fuel Systems Solutions up 5.13% in pre-market after analysts initiate coverage on Friday of the small cap with a "buy." See (Nasdaq:FSYS).  
• American Capital Agency up 3% in pre-market after declaring a $1.20 Q4 dividend. See (Nasdaq:AGNC). 
• Flow International 2% higher today after an analyst last week upgraded the small cap from "buy" to "strong buy," citing new 10Q financial reports. See (Nasdaq:FLOW).  
• Rackspace Hosting Inc. opened higher on light volume after taking a big hit Friday. See (NYSE:RAX).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Grey Wolf Inc. gapped lower and tumbled 40% to 52-week lows. See (NYSE:GW).  
• Brown Shoe Company Inc. fell 10%, giving part of a huge rally from Friday. See (NYSE:BWS). 
• Accuray down 7% after swinging to a Q1 loss on Friday. See (Nasdaq:ARAY).
• Ruby Tuesday announces multiple store closures and $70 million anticipated loss in 2009; shares dip 4.4%. See (NYSE:RT).  

---