Tag - :SDXC

Battered stocks limped to a dismal Monday close, with the Dow and S&P 500 falling to levels seen in 1997 as investors continue to pull money out on decreased confidence.

“People left and right are throwing in the towel," Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services, told the Associated Press.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 16.38, or 3.99%, to $394.58, while the Dow fell 3.4% to close at a staggering 7,114.94, and the S&P 500 tumbled 3.47% to end the day at 743.33. For the year, the Russell is now down 21%, the Dow is down 18.93% and the S&P 500 is down 17.7%.

News out today that the Treasury Department would start a new, revamped bank bailout program that would include the option of allowing the government to increase its ownership in financial institutions did little to support investor confidence.

Although the Obama administration doused rumors last week of a potential plan to nationalize banks, the Treasury said today that beginning on Wednesday, the 20 largest U.S. banks will be required to undergo a new “stress test.” The government test will determine whether each institution has enough capital to survive any further economic spirals. More details surrounding the stress test will be released on Wednesday by the Treasury, though it did divulge today that if any . . .

VistaPrint Ltd. (Nasdaq:VPRT), Webster Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:WBS) and Wintrust Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:WTFC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Dolan Media Co. (Nasdaq:DM), Switch & Data Facilities Co Inc. (Nasdaq:SDXC), CoBiz Financial Inc. (Nasdaq:COBZ), AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (Nasdaq:ANN), World Acceptance Corp. (Nasdaq:WRLD) and Maidenform Brands Inc. (Nasdaq:MFB).

US Airways Group Inc. (Nasdaq:LCC), Central Jersey Bancorp (Nasdaq:CJBK) and Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Rubicon Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:RBCN), Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (Nasdaq:BGFV), InterOil Corp. (Nasdaq:IOC), Palm Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM), Switch & Data Facilities Co Inc. (Nasdaq:SDXC) and Super Micro Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:SMCI).

Small-cap stocks stormed out of negative territory late in the day, avoiding what looked like a sixth consecutive losing session when an oversold, thin market caught a bid in conjunction with news on the Obama leadership team. Despite the upbeat late rally, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) still tumbled to fresh bear market lows earlier in the day and closed out the week at the lowest point since April 2003. For today, small caps were up 21.22, or 5.51%, to 406.53, but are still down 47% for the year. Large-cap stocks fared better today, with the Dow up 6.54% and the S&P 500 up 6.32%. For 2008, the Dow is off 39% and the S&P 500 is down 45%.

And even though large caps outperformed small caps today, it’s not all wine and roses for big companies either. On Thursday, the S&P 500 tumbled to 11-year lows and a string of huge, name-brand companies continue to shrivel in front of our eyes. This week, the hammer came down on Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) as what used to be world’s largest bank (currently No. 2 U.S. bank) saw its stock collapse 19% today and some 70% in just the month of November. There were reports that Citigroup executives were considering selling off some business units, or perhaps the entire bank.

The market rallied into positive territory late in the day on news that Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, was tabbed by President-elect Obama as the new Treasury Secretary. Obama is expected to announce his economic advisory staff early next week, which could soothe rattled investors. The New York Times also reported that Obama’s election rival Hillary Clinton would accept his nomination to the Secretary of State post.

From a charting perspective, it’s important to note that the market is oversold on momentum readings heading toward a holiday week, which could have played a supportive role in today’s action. In addition, there was some talk that options expiration activity today also could have been a supportive influence. Either way, the market will still need to confirm today’s upside push over a longer time frame, on solid volume and with bullish chart patterns to suggest that any kind of noteworthy bottom is in play. Looking ahead to next week’s action, the market will likely . . .

Ambac Financial Group (Nasdaq:AKT), United Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:UCBA) and Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. (Nasdaq:USAP) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: GT Solar International Inc. (Nasdaq:SOLR), Gladstone Commerical REIT (Nasdaq:GOOD), Logility Inc. (Nasdaq:LGTY), ICU Medical Inc. (Nasdaq:ICUI), Rochester Medical Corp. (Nasdaq:ROCM) and Switch & Data Facilities Co Inc. (Nasdaq:SDXC).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Jones Apparel Group Inc. (Nasdaq:JNY), Switch & Data Facilities Co Inc. (Nasdaq:SDXC) and Temple-Inland Inc. (Nasdaq:TIN) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Dynamics Research Corp. (Nasdaq:DRCO), American Greetings Corp. (Nasdaq:AM), Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:TYPE), Brunswick Corp. (Nasdaq:BC), Atheros Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHR) and CPI International Inc. (Nasdaq:CPII).

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are a little higher and the small-cap index will likely open with a small rise.

There is no major economic news scheduled for today, but the Dallas Federal Reserve President’s speech at 1:30 p.m. ET is likely to make headlines.

Among small-cap companies, Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDP), which makes fuel cells, said that it expects to ship twice as many units in 2008, bringing in total revenues of between $65 million and $75 million.

Small-cap stocks staged a dramatic bearish reversal Thursday, as the Russell 2000 rejected a promising morning rise to shed 13.74, or 1.94% to 696.28 by the close. The market continues to reflect indecision within the recent range – unwilling to sustain a dynamic move in either direction.

The market will be able to navigate through today's session unencumbered by outside economic news. It will be interesting to see if the Russell starts to falter below the 700 swing line after four sessions of see-saw action along that point so far this week. Look for support Friday at 694, 688 and 680; resistance comes in at 703.50, 712 and 717.

 

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) has rebounded from its earlier losses despite news of poor economic reports.

At 12:28 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was up 3.92 points, or 0.56%, to 706.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 20.59 points, or 0.17%, to 12,357.81.

Stocks small and large opened with a drop as investors focused on news of surprisingly strong inflation and largely disregarded expected news that the U.S. housing sector remains troubled.

The Russell 2000 fell to a level below 696 points shortly after 10 a.m. ET, and stayed in the red until a sharp jump at about 12:10 p.m. ET propelled it into positive territory.

Wall Street’s bearish mood in the morning was due to news that the consumer price index added 0.4% in January, above the expected 0.3%.

The U.S. Labor Department also reported that core consumer prices, which exclude the costs of food and energy, increased 0.3%, above the projected 0.2%.

Core prices have added 2.5% on a year-over-year basis, which is beyond the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred range of between 1% and 2%. Worse, annual consumer prices growth has accelerated from 2.4% in December 2007.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) posted the steepest decline as U.S. indices fell on news that U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called economic growth “sluggish.” The small-cap index lost 16.61 points, or 2.30%, to 705.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) declined 175.26 points, or 1.40%, to 12,376.98.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has let go 7.93%, while the Dow is missing 6.69% and the S&P 500 has fallen 8.14%.

“My baseline outlook involves a period of sluggish growth, followed by a somewhat stronger pace of growth starting later this year,” Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee today. “The outlook for the economy has worsened in recent months, and the downside risks to growth have increased.”

The bears took complete control of trading as soon as the Fed chief began his congressional testimony at 10 a.m. ET and small-cap stocks began a virtually uninterrupted slide down.

Bernanke hinted that rate cuts are possible in the future and pointed out he is not predicting a recession, but investors didn’t take notice.

In economic news, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the country’s trade deficit fell by a greater-than-expected 6.9% to $58.76 billion in December from $63.12 billion in November.

However, the U.S. Labor Department reported that for the week ended Feb. 9, the four-week moving average for new jobless claims increased 12,000 to its highest level since October 2005.

Not long ago, when you wanted to make a call, you used a cell phone or even a run-of-the-mill telephone. When you wanted to watch TV, you used a television. These days, though, almost all our daily communication and media needs can be met through the Internet.

Because of this trend, the high demand for bandwidth is upon us and continues to expand in response to the rapid deployment of bandwidth-intensive services such as Internet phone, Internet television, online gaming and streaming video.

International Data Corp. forecasts the U.S. subscriber base for Internet phone and Internet television will grow at annual rates of 64% and 131%, respectively, between 2005 and 2009. Online digital game downloads are forecast to increase to 3.3 billion by 2009 from 1.2 billion while overall broadband penetration is projected to grow from 34% to 53% of U.S. households.

Poised to prosper are Switch & Data Facilities Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: SDXC) and RRSAT Global Communications Network Ltd. (Nasdaq: RRST), two companies that provide services that address rising bandwidth demand.
 
Switch & Data Facilities provides network neutral connection and collocation services for telecoms, Internet service providers and online content providers. Initially, the various networks that made up the Internet connected at public network access points. Eventually these became owned and managed by telecoms. As traffic grew, however, these network access points became overloaded and some network service providers began connecting directly by establishing fiber optic links between facilities. These links, expensive to build and maintain, led to the formation of commercial businesses such as Switch & Data, which operates network neutral Internet exchanges and collocation facilities.

Shares of Switch & Data Facilities Company, Inc. (Nasdaq:SDXC) got a boost this morning in pre-market trading after the provider of Internet exchange and colocation services reported it swung to a profit for the second quarter and upgraded guidance last night.

For the three months ended June 30, the Tampa, Fla.-based company recorded net income of $2 million, or $0.06 per share, compared with a net loss of $3.5 million, or $0.06 per share for the second quarter last year. Eight analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average expecting earnings of $0.05 per share.

Total revenues increased 22% to $33.3 million from $27.3 million in the same quarter in 2006. Six analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average expecting revenues of $33.38 million.

Switch & Data also upgraded its financial guidance for 2007. The company said it expects total revenues to be $135 million and adjusted EBITDA to be $42 million. This compares with previously given guidance for revenues of $127 million and adjusted EBITDA of $40 million. Eight analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average expecting revenues of $130.80 million.

The company further said that since it has outperformed its plan, it is increasing capital expenditures for the current year in order to accelerate product capacity. Switch & Data now expects capital expenditures for 2007 of between $37 million and $39 million.

Shares of Switch & Data climbed $2.03, or 12.71%, to $18.00 in pre-market trading.