Recovery bounce led by techs, energy, gold

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Small-cap stocks rallied back into positive territory, rejecting a morning slide to seven-week lows as technology firms, energy companies, gold stocks and downtrodden financial shares attracted buying interest from bargain hunters. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 1.51, or 0.34%, at 444.36. Despite the rally off morning lows, this still marked the lowest weekly close for small caps since the bottom was formed in mid-November and was the second lowest weekly finish in more than five years. For 2009, the Russell is off 11%, while the Dow is down 7.9% and the S&P 500 is down 7.8%.

Technology stocks were a clear source of strength for the market today, with Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG) climbing 5.9% after reporting solid earnings. Earlier this week, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) beat the forecast and these good vibes on select tech stocks have helped offset terrible reports from Microsoft and from a handful of chipmakers around the world (such as Samsung and Advanced Micro Devices).

It has been a bruising run for bank and financial shares in recent weeks, but that group found buyers today, perhaps linked to bargain hunting and also likely supported by hopes for a stimulus-tied jump next week as more details about the Obama plans come to light. In addition, the market is starting to expect embattled Treasury Department appointee Timothy Geithner will clear a Senate vote on Monday, providing some leadership in the financial arena. Geithner today said that he would strengthen regulation on over-the-counter derivatives and oversight of hedge funds. For the day, bank stocks were up 4.1%, while the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund rose 3.3%.

Gold prices steamrolled to $900 an ounce Friday, gathering momentum from short-term investors seeking a safe-haven and perhaps even some long-term traders . . .

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