Small-cap stocks pushed lower, pressured by news of soft earnings and by profit-taking from traders who caught Tuesday’s big rally. At 9:54 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 5.15, or 0.71% at 715.89.

Tech stocks were underpinned relative to other index products by surprisingly stout earnings from Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO), which was up 5% shortly after the open. Within the tech arena, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) was the beneficiary of positive analyst comments overnight and was up 1.5%.

However, the good news on big-cap techs was countered by big losses from a broad spectrum of companies. For example, Whole Foods Market Inc. (Nasdaq:WFMI), missed the earnings projection and tumbled 18% on the open. Also, priceline.com (Nasdaq:PCLN) was down 13% as the company had a cautious forward-looking statement. Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) dropped 13% on sloppy quarterly earnings and news that the firm will reduce its dividend.

Crude oil prices were on mildly firm footing this morning awaiting the weekly inventory report, which comes out near 10:35 a.m. ET. Energy prices have tanked in recent days, sinking over 19% from the summer peak to the recent low. The market is a little oversold on short-term momentum readings and vulnerable to a bounce. In addition, an explosion in a pipeline in Turkey and concerns about potential supply disruptions out of Africa were supportive elements in play. As for the inventory report, traders are looking for a build in crude oil stocks of about 300,000 barrels.

Despite the firmer tone this morning in crude oil, the U.S. dollar continued to rally, climbing to 6-month highs against the yen and fetching fresh 6-week highs vs. the euro. A strong dollar should be a pressuring element on commodity markets, many of which – including oil – are priced in dollar terms.

Investors were still digesting the statement from the FOMC meeting Tuesday, but the general consensus is that the changes made in the wording reflected a modest “dovish” stance on monetary policy. In essence, the Fed’s policy makers have been granted a time extension on the inflation fighting front because of the recent sharp decline in crude oil and another commodity markets. The fact that the Fed is willing to delay taking a hard stance on inflation because of concerns over the economy might be supportive to those who want access to cheap money from the Federal Reserve, but it’s still unsettling that growth is sluggish and unemployment is rising. Notably, there was a dissenting vote from the FOMC meeting, with Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher preferring to raise rates. Asha Bangalore, economist with Northern Trust, said in an email that “hints about a possibility of higher federal funds in the near term were absent. The Fed is on hold for several months until financial and housing market stability is visible, employment conditions improve and consumer spending is on firmer footing.”

Broad market sectors on the decline this morning were highlighted by construction materials, thrifts and mortgage finance firms, wireless telecoms, insurance, tire and rubber, and diversified banks.

Individual small-caps of note included Advisory Board Co. (Nasdaq:ABCO), which gapped lower and tumbled some 28% on sloppy earnings results. Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc. (Nasdaq:MFLX) was off 24%, also tied to disappointing quarterly numbers. National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE:NFP) shed 18% after the firm missed the earnings projection. On the upside, Greenfield Online Inc. (Nasdaq:SRVY) was up 21% on news that the firm received an offer from a suitor for $17.50 a share.

As the day progresses, it will be interesting to see if the Russell can sustain price action above 721, which would help validate a breach of trendline resistance drawn off the June and July highs. Sustained action above that trendline would hint at an upside breakout from the prolonged congestion zone. For now, the morning rejection of that trendline area implies that the market still needs some kind of fresh surprise to break free of the recent trading range. From a day-trading standpoint, key resistance today is at 726. If that point is broken, there is very little resistance of note until we get closer to 734. On the downside, support is already in play at 714.50. From there, short-term support comes in today at 707.50, then down at 701.00.