Tag - AMEX:GSS

Yesterday I alerted you to this Friday's Russell Reconstitution, and mentioned the profit opportunity. If you missed yesterday’s issue, you can click here to get caught up. But to quickly recap: once a year the Russell indexes add and subtract companies, and the event is happening this Friday. So I’ve been doing my homework to find companies that might get listed on the Russell 2000 small cap index.

Now let’s get down to business and look at some of these potential Russell 2000 additions.

I sifted through company after company that met the criteria to be included in this year’s rebalance. And I've picked out a few that I’m excited about. These companies, in most cases, have never been listed on a major index - or even a minor index for that matter - so getting listed could have a substantial positive impact on their stock prices this Friday.

The company's I’ve picked have shown strong results recently and should hold up well even if they don’t get the coveted call from 'coach' Russell on Friday.

If they do get that call, their stocks could be looking at a very nice June indeed.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed slightly higher today on news that a deal was hammered out on the stimulus bill. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were First M&F Corp. (Nasdaq:FMFC), Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE:MI) and Golden Star Resources (AMEX:GSS).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The MBA Mortgage Application Index fell 24.5% today despite a mild dip on fixed rate mortgages, which suggests that the housing market is still struggling mightily.
• Economist Steve Wood: "The housing market is still mired in a deep recession with no indication that a bottom has yet been reached."
• The monthly trade report was released, showed the smallest trade gap in nearly six years, but that gap was still a tad bigger than expected.
• Bank shares were a bright spot for the market today, with the KBW Banking Index rising about 5%. 
• Gold stocks were a source of strength today, likely bolstered by investors looking for a hard goods safe haven away from struggling equities.
• Crude oil prices tumbled 4.2%, losing $1.61 to $35.94 a barrel, pulled down by a surprisingly large build on weekly inventories.
• Copper prices in U.S. trading tumbled some 5% amid news that China’s January imports of copper fell 19%.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Small-cap banks dominated the biggest percentage gainers today, with firms like First M&F Corp. climbing back from a big slide Tuesday. FMFC gained about 21% on the session. See (Nasdaq:FMFC).
• Small-cap bank Marshall & Ilsley Corp. rose 12% today, gaining back some of the 26% spiral from Tuesday. See (NYSE:MI).
• Several small-cap gold stocks were a hot item today, including . . .

Small-cap stocks edged higher Wednesday, finding an afternoon reprieve when news broke that a deal was hammered out on the stimulus bill, which lifted the market back up out of the red. Downtrodden bank and financial stocks provided a lift to the market, as did gold stocks, helping to counter weakness in the technology arena. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 2.18, or 0.49%, at 447.95 and is now down 10.3% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow is off 9.5% for 2009, while the S&P 500 is down 7.6%.

The market still seemed a little shell shocked after Tuesday’s swoon when the bank rescue plan didn’t seem to play well with investors. Reaching a deal on the stimulus plan was just a matter of timing and there is a sense that it will take many months for the plan to generate help for the struggling economy, so perhaps it’s not a surprise that bounce off the stimulus deal didn’t seem to have a lot of traction. For the record, the deal comes in at $789 billion and a vote on the final product could take place Thursday and would most likely get a very fast stamp of approval from the White House.

In other policy events today, banking executives spent the day in Washington testifying about the first batch of TARP money that was doled out last year. Bank shares were a bright spot for the market today, with the KBW Banking Index rising about 5%. Small-cap banks dominated the biggest percentage gainers today, with firms like First M&F Corp. (Nasdaq:FMFC) climbing back from a big slide Tuesday. FMFC gained about 21% on the session. Small-cap bank Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (NYSE:MI) rose 12% today, gaining back some of the 26% spiral from Tuesday; still MI shares are down about 85% from the September 2008 peak.

Gold stocks were a source of strength today, likely bolstered by investors looking for a hard goods safe haven away from struggling equities and also amid talk that asset managers have been ramping up allocation percentages on gold investments. Gold futures climbed some 3% on the day, while the Gold and Silver Index . . .

Small-cap stocks remained higher into mid-session, supported by gains in gold stocks, banks and homebuilders but the rise was taking place on fairly light volume and in the shadow of Tuesday’s big collapse. At 12:27 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 3.29, or 0.74 at 449.06.

Investors continue to sit on their hands waiting for news out of Washington, as hearings on the first tranche of TARP spending take place. In addition, lawmakers still have to piece together the House and Senate versions of the stimulus bill to present to President Obama for signing. And of course, the biggie is to see whether or not the Administration can mount some type of spin control off the disastrous market response to the Treasury Department’s rollout of the bank bail out plan Tuesday.

The big question facing market watchers so far today is whether or not the rise is simply a dead cat bounce from hot money shorts booking profits from Tuesday’s swoon, or if there are legitimate buyers coming in to find bargains and beaten down shares. Light volume and limited ranges tilt the answer toward the dead cat side of the ledger, but it is comforting to see that the Russell held above the late January lows despite a breach from the Dow.

As for sector activity, gold bugs were a happy lot today; gold futures were up over 3% to four-month highs, the Gold and Silver Index was up 7.5% at midday, small-cap gold stock Golden Star Resources Ltd. (AMEX:GSS) built on morning gains to climb 12.5% and big-cap group leader Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) rose 8.4%.

Real estate services shares, homebuilders, insurance brokers and photo product companies were also doing well so far today, sharing the spotlight with diverse financial services firms, regional banks and asset management specialists.

That’s not to say that everything was peaches and cream today; constructional material firms, paper products companies, industrial real estate investment trusts, footwear companies, gas utilities and oil exploration firms were all on the losing side of the ledger. Energy stocks gave back morning gains to slip into the red as crude oil prices slipped off the highs following weekly inventory data that showed a . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher in early trading Wednesday, supported by scattered bargain hunting after the big downside press Tuesday on disappointment over a lack of details in the bank rescue plan. Bank, financial and commodity stocks were among the leaders on the early rise today after getting battered Tuesday. At 9:53 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 5.41, or 1.21%, at 451.17.

Investors will continue to keep a close eye on developments out of Washington today, with hearings slated on the first distribution of the TARP funds, ongoing banter about the stimulus plan and any “damage control” following Tuesday’s messy response to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s rollout of the bank bail out package.

The MBA Mortgage Applications Index fell 24.5% in this week’s report, slipping back to the lowest level since November. The purchase sub-index was down 9.8% to the lowest level since December 2000 and this decline in mortgage activity took place even though mortgage rates actually edged slightly lower in the latest week.

“Despite this week's decline in fixed mortgage rates, mortgage rates have drifted higher since the beginning of the year,” Steven Wood, chief economist with Insight Economics, said in an email. “As a result, mortgage activity has collapsed since the first of the year. Moreover, these data are for applications, not approvals; anecdotal evidence indicates that fall out rates are running as high as 50% so the actual effects on economic activity are far weaker than these data indicate. The housing market is still mired in a deep recession with no indication that a bottom has yet been reached,” Wood said.

In addition to the MBA report, the monthly trade report was released and showed the smallest trade gap in nearly six years, but that gap was still a tad bigger than expected. The report reflected the lowest auto import figure in some 10 . . .

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 . . .

Small-cap stocks turned in their best performance of the New Year today, as investors decided that a dreary picture of the current economic environment would simply make it that much easier for incoming President-elect Obama to push through a big fiscal stimulus package. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 9.68, or 1.92% at 514.71, the highest daily finish since November 4. For the first three days of trading in 2009, the Russell is up 3.1%, while the Dow is up 2.7% and the S&P 500 is up 3.5%.

In what promises to be a very busy week on the economic data front, the market skipped merrily through several gloomy reports today, with services sector activity, pending home sales and factory orders all consistent with an economy mired deep in recession. Even when a report beats the forecast, as was the case with today’s ISM Non-Manufacturing report on services sector activity, it’s still a low number historically. For the record, the ISM report came in at 40.6, well above the consensus projection of 37.0 and a nice turn of events considering the ISM’s tally on manufacturing Friday reflected a 28-year low.

Elsewhere on the data front, factory orders came in down 4.6%, which was quite a bit ...