Small-cap stocks edge lower on Tuesday opening; ZGEN, LXP, and SMA lead gainers

Small-cap stocks edged slightly lower on the open, pulled down by declines in overseas markets but a bounce in crude oil prices into the stock market opening helped limit selling interest, as did Federal Reserve comments on the TARP.  Some of today’s small-cap gainers were ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq:ZGEN), Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE:LXP) and Symmetry Medical Inc. (NYSE:SMA).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Europe stocks were down about 2%, while Asian equities were off about 3%, with mining, energy, telecom, bank and tech stocks taking a hit.  
• In overseas trading, European and Asian markets appeared to be “catching up” with the slide Monday in U.S. equities.  
• Crude oil prices were down about $1 a barrel overnight, but rallied back into positive territory just ahead of the stock market open today.  
• The international trade report showed that the U.S. deficit narrowed by 28.7% in November, which marked the largest contraction in 12 years.  

Small Cap Gainers:

• Bristol-Myers buys ZymoGenetics’ experimental Hepatitis C drug; shares of ZymoGenetics pop 53% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:ZGEN).
• Lexington Realty Trust rose 14%, essentially recovering Monday’s big decline. See (NYSE:LXP).  
• Symmetry Medical Inc. climbed 13% as the medical implant firm tried to rally after sinking to the lowest daily close in more than a year on Monday. See (NYSE:SMA).
• InterOil Corp. rose 12% as the firm updated drilling progress on a reservoir in Papua, New Guinea. See (NYSE:IOC).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Cepheid gapped lower and fell 18% gene analysis firm reported earnings that didn’t match up with investor expectations. See (Nasdaq:CPHD).  
• Prestige Brands lowers guidance; stock slumps over 13%. See (NYSE:PBH).   
• AMB Property Corp. slipped 8% as the firm made some dividend announcements. See (NYSE:AMB).  

For access to the full article, you must be a registered member - it's FREE.

Already a member? Please log in below