Homebuilders LEN, KBH, TOL Up With Fed Holding RateStocks moved higher today after several positive reports reversed early downward trading trends. Investors initially drove down stocks on news that first time unemployment claims increased by 15,000 last week. Gains were made in homebuilders like Lennar (NYSE:LEN), KB Homes (NYSE:KBH), and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) as well as retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq:BBBY), Kirkland's (Nasdaq:KIRK), and Pier One (NYSE:PIR). Both sectors have seen bankruptcies (Linens and Things, Circuit City, among others) and layoffs over the past year as the souring economy has brought housing starts to a crawl and forced consumers to pull back in discretionary spending. Small-cap stocks in the Russell 2000 helped propel that index 2.87% to close at 509.14 today. Leading small-cap gainer was Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:JAZZ) up 37% on news that the late-stage results for its fibromyalgia drug had met the company's main goal. The drug, Xyrem, is scheduled to be submitted for marketing approval. Gains in Jazz shares outpaced gains made by other, better known, pharmaceutical manufacturers including Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Merck (NYSE:MRK), and share price losses posted by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK). As we've mentioned in previous updates, this follows a general trend of sector rotation as investors are looking for more defensive plays, like healthcare and pharma, over the summer. Other small-cap gainers for today include CPI International (Nasdaq:CPII) up 32%; Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB) up 27% on news that Dress Barn (Nasdaq:DBRN) will buy it for roughly $157 million in stock; Royale Energy (Nasdaq:ROYL) up 32.5%, an energy company involved in development and exploration of natural gas and oil in California, Texas, and the Rocky Mountain region. Small-cap decliners were lead by medical oral diagnostics maker OraSure Technologies (Nasdaq:OSUR) down 23% on news that it needs to conduct more additional clinical trials to get approval for its hepatitis C virus test. The exact timing and costs for these additional tests have not been disclosed by OraSure and investors drove down share prices based on this uncertainty. A number full of other small-cap stocks were big decliners today including data marketing services provider Acxiom Corporation (Nasdaq:ACXM) down 22%; Capital Bank Corporation (Nasdaq:CBKN) down 20%; and Cordorus Valley Bancorp (Nasdaq:CVLY) down 19%.
Clean Energy Fuels, Solarfun Power Holdings and America's Car-Mart lead small-cap volume in pre-market
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF) and America's Car-Mart Inc. (Nasdaq:CRMT) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.
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Also included among the results: Medivation Inc. (Nasdaq:MDVN), Savvis Inc. (Nasdaq:SVVS), China Sunergy Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:CSUN), Westport Innovations Inc. (Nasdaq:WPRT), ShengdaTech Inc. (Nasdaq:SDTH) and OraSure Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:OSUR). Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:
OraSure Technologies, Synchronoss Technologies and Thomas Weisel Partners Group among 52-week lows
OraSure Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:OSUR), Synchronoss Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:SNCR) and Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc (Nasdaq:TWPG) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.
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Greatbatch Inc (Nasdaq:GB), Independent Bank Corp (Nasdaq:IBCP) and TierOne Corp (NYSE:TONE) are also among the new 52-week lows. Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:
Russell slips into the redAfter rising during morning trading, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) hit resistance at 733.59 at 10:45 a.m. ET, and has continued to slide in Wednesday’s trading action. At 1:59 p.m. ET, the Russell was down 6.12, or 0.84%, at 723.67. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig gave the bears support after he said late Tuesday that inflationary pressures “now stand at unacceptably high levels.” Hoenig is not a current voting member of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee. U.S. consumers are feeling the pinch on their wallet, especially with oil prices surging to record highs. In recent trading, June crude oil contracts were up $1.51 to $123.35 a barrel. A rising U.S. dollar combined with a positive productivity report kept investors bullish during early trading. In afternoon trading, the greenback is up to $1.5387 versus the euro. The U.S. dollar closed at $1.5524 against the Euro on Tuesday. Also encouraging the bulls was the Labor Department’s Wednesday morning announcement that non-farm business productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.2% during the first quarter. Economists anticipated a 1.5% increase. Unit labor costs rose slower than expected at an annual rate of 2.2%, compared with . . .
Synchronoss Technologies, Kenneth Cole Productions and OraSure Technologies lead small-cap percentage losers
Synchronoss Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:SNCR), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc (Nasdaq:KCP) and OraSure Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:OSUR) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.
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ExlService Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:EXLS), Irwin Financial Corp (Nasdaq:IFC) and Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) are also among the biggest percentage losers. Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:
Russell 2000 futures inch up
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are slightly above their close level on Friday on news of corporate deal-making.
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Search engine Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) will reject a $45 billion bid from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), according to news reports over the weekend. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant will in turn take its offer directly to shareholders. More mergers and acquisitions news is coming from networking solutions provider Nortel Networks Corp. and telecommunications heavyweight Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), which are in talks to merge their wireless infrastructure divisions, according to The Wall Street Journal. There are no economic report releases to navigate on Monday, and outside volatility looks calm until we get to Wednesday morning’s Retail Sales report. Look for support Monday at 688 and 680, while resistance is at 712 and 721.
Russell 2000 futures riseThe Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures have moved higher and the small-cap index is likely to rise as investors await the Fed’s decision. All eyes are on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is meeting today to decide on monetary policy. A decision will be announced at 2:15 p.m. ET. Many observers are betting that falling house prices and restricted lending from banks will prompt the central bank to lower the federal funds rate to give the economy a lift. The federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, currently stands at 4.5%. Financial markets have recently taken the view that a 0.25% cut is baked in, with more courageous voices anticipating a decline of 0.5%. Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million: Biggest percentage gainers: • Genesis Microchip Inc. (GNSS), up 57% on news it is being purchased by STMicroelectronics NV (STM) for about $336 million. Biggest percentage losers: • Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (SPRD), down 7%.
Pre-market: Inspire Pharmaceuticals gets FDA nod
Shares of Durham, N.C.-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISPH) are trading higher following news after Friday’s close that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company’s treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis, a type of eye infection. Shares are up $0.53, or 7.74%, to $7.38.
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