Defensive start as bank plan news delayed

Small-cap stocks edged slightly lower early today, pulled down by sloppy corporate profit results and mild concern that the roll out of the bank bail out plan was pushed back this week. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 4.18, or 0.89%, at 466.52.

There was some thought that the market needed a little “breather” session after Friday’s solid gains that flew in the face of a bad employment report. With no fresh news yet on the bank or stimulus plans, it was tempting for short-term players to pocket profits off last week’s rise, which also marked the first weekly gain of 2009 for small caps.

Interestingly, bank stocks were holding in okay to start the session — especially regional banks — so any angst tied to the delay in the bank rescue seemed to be manifested in other arenas. Although bank stocks were on decent footing to start the day, financial stocks in general were still simply treading water, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund up just 0.3% on the open.

The official excuse for the bank rescue delay was that the Administration wanted to focus attention on the stimulus plan vote, which could take place today after more debate in the Senate. Among market watchers, it appears that the bank rescue plan is actually more keenly awaited, tied to a sense that it could have a more immediate impact on companies versus the time it will take a stimulus plan to ripple through the economy. For now, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is slated to have a press conference on the bank plan Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Crude oil futures climbed about $1 a barrel into the stock market open, providing a lift to energy and commodity stocks early. Shortly after the open, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 0.6%. Crude oil prices were lifted by talk of further production cuts out of OPEC.

The U.S. dollar was off about 0.9% against the euro this morning, providing a lift to commodities that are priced in dollar terms (such as crude oil). Looking at early sector trends, commodity themes were finding support, with coal, oil refiners . . .

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