Russell continues decline

Small caps are continuing to bleed red in Monday’s trading. At 1:46 p.m., the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is down 0.82%, or 5.9, at 715.17. After Friday’s big rally, the index slipped in early trading today, broached the 718 mark briefly, and then continued to slide.

The market is digesting results from drug makers Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK), and from the second largest American bank, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). Bank of America shares were lower after the regular opening, down about 2.5% as investors appear less willing to extend an olive branch to sluggish results, especially compared to the reaction last week that was seen on Citigroup’s (NYSE:C) earnings.

As for the drug makers, the news was mixed, with Eli Lilly tumbling about 4.5% on sloppy results, while Merck slipped about 0.1% despite beating the estimate.

Among small caps, Packeteer Inc. (Nasdaq:PKTR) is rising more than 12% on news that the company was set for acquisition, and North American Galvanizing & Co. (Nasdaq:NGA) was up about 7% into the opening as the company topped earnings forecasts.

On the downside, Aladdin Knowledge Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:ALDN) tumbled about 27% after missing the earnings forecast. MedCath Corp. (Nasdaq:MDTH) is down about 17% after the Charlotte, N.C.-based health-care provider estimated its second-quarter and fiscal 2008 earnings far below Wall Street expectations.

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

Already a member? Please log in below