Tag - SHOR

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are posting modest declines on news of poor December retail sales.
 
At 10:57 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 4.72 points, or 0.66%, to 707.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had lost 29.67 points, or 0.23%, to 12,705.64.

Small-cap stocks started the day in negative territory but quickly recovered as investors apparently weighed news of disappointing December retail sales against news of a government report that showed an unexpected decline in weekly jobless claims.

The bearish pre-market mood was due to news of weak December sales at the major U.S. retailers. The main culprits appear to be the early Thanksgiving holiday, which moved some shopping days to November, as well as the deep discounts that many retailers offered to lure in shoppers.

Small-cap retailers also failed to impress, with music and apparel seller Hot Topic, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOTT) reporting that December same-store sales dropped 6.2%, leading the company to lower its fourth-quarter earnings guidance.

Similarly, Watsonville, Calif.-based boating supply retailer West Marine, Inc. (Nasdaq: WMAR) announced fourth-quarter results that disappointed analysts, while Cost Plus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPWM) said that holiday same-store sales declined.

On the bright side, apparel retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBHI) announced that fourth-quarter same-store revenue rose 4.8%.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices posted losses today following mixed housing news and more mortgage concerns. The small-cap index fell 19.09 points, or 2.64%, to 704.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) lost 238.42 points, or 1.86%, to 12,589.07.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 7.99%, while the Dow is down 5.09% and the S&P 500 has shrunk 5.32%.

Small-cap stocks opened in positive territory and then gained more following news of an announcement at 10 a.m. ET that pending U.S. home sales fell 2.6% in November to a reading of 87.6.

The decline is more than what economists were expecting, but investors apparently liked the fact that the figures for October and September were revised higher.

Additionally, the National Association of Realtors reported that it expects existing-home sales to hold steady during the following months before rising later in the year and improving in 2009.

“On the one hand, we have a pent-up demand from the four million jobs added to our economy over the past two years of sales decline,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, in a statement. “On the other, consumers continue to wait for additional signs of market stabilization.”

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) posted a gain for the first time in 2008 as most of the major U.S. indices ended a turbulent session in positive territory. The small-cap index climbed 2.35 points, or 0.33%, to 723.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) advanced 27.31 points, or 0.21%, to 12,827.49.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has lost 5.49%, while the Dow is down 3.30% and the S&P 500 has retreated 3.55%.

Small-cap stocks went on a rollercoaster ride that ended with a late-session rally that pushed the index into the green. Equities started the day higher, then fell abruptly after about 30 minutes and bounced around for the remainder of trading.

With no major news releases scheduled for today, investors turned their attention to future policy actions aimed at improving the U.S. economy and preventing a recession.

“The housing downturn and credit disruption will weigh on our economy and impose a penalty on our economic growth,” Treasury secretary Henry Paulson said in a speech to the New York Society of Securities Analysts this afternoon. “We will likely have further indications of slower growth in the weeks and months ahead.”

However, Paulson did not mention any new measures the Bush administration is planning to keep the economy moving forward and reiterated his belief that there will be no recession.

“While growth looks to have slowed considerably in the last part of 2007, our economy remains resilient and I expect it to continue to grow,” he said.

Also addressing the economy was President Bush, who called on the U.S. Congress to make some of his income tax cuts permanent and urged the passing of a number of housing-related proposals.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices have recovered from a morning dip and are now posting gains. At 1:58 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was up 4.10 points, or 0.57%, to 725.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had added 8.29 points, or 0.06%, to 12,808.47.

Small-cap stocks are moving up as speculation of an upcoming interest rate cut encourages investors to snap up equities following Friday’s steep declines. The major U.S. indices were trending higher in the morning, with the exception of a brief fall shortly after 10 a.m. ET.

News of a worse-than-expected jobs report on Friday dropped stocks and heightened speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to prevent the economy from slipping into recession. The Fed is scheduled to begin a two-day meeting on Jan. 29.

Economists generally agree that U.S. economic growth was slow in the fourth quarter of 2007, dragged down by the stagnating U.S. housing sector and tighter lending.

Observers will be listening to a speech by the U.S. Treasury secretary at 2 p.m. ET about measures the Bush administration plans on taking to give the economy a boost.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are falling despite initial speculation of an interest rate cut.
 
At 10:53 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 3.06 points, or 0.42%, to 718.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had lost 24.31 points, or 0.19%, to 12,775.87.

Stocks began the day on a bullish note as investors speculated that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to prevent the economy from slipping into recession. The Fed is scheduled to kick-off a two-day meeting on Jan. 29. At its previous meeting on Dec. 11, it lowered the federal funds rate to 4.25% from 4.50%.

The federal funds rate is the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other.

But the sentiment did not last long, and shortly after 10 a.m. ET, equities were in negative territory.

ShoreTel, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHOR), provider of Pure IP Unified Communications, lowered its revenue guidance for its second fiscal quarter today, attributing the lowered revenue expectations to a decline in sales to new customers.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said it expects revenue to be in the range of $29.7 million to $30.7 million, below its previous expectations of $32 million to $35 million. The consensus of seven analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for revenues of $34.07 million.

Shortel said its gross margin percentage is still expected to be within the guided range of 62% to 64% and GAAP operating expenses are also expected to be within the previously guided range of $19 million to $20 million.

The company commented that it is still in the process of analyzing the factors that affected the second-quarter results and that it will discuss those results further during a conference call at the end of January.

Shares of ShoreTel (SHOR) tumbled 21.64%, or $2.83, to $10.25 ahead of the opening. Shares of ShoreTel have been trading in the range of $9.80 to $19.96 for the past 52 weeks.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are higher and the small-cap index will likely open in positive territory.

There is little in the way of economic or corporate releases today, but investors are stepping up to buy shares after a sharp decline on Friday following news of a worse-than-expected December jobs report.

Helping fuel the bullish mood on pre-market trading today is speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to prevent the economy from slipping into recession. The Fed is scheduled to kick-off a two-day meeting on Jan. 29. At its previous meeting on Dec. 11, it lowered the federal funds rate to 4.25% from 4.50%.

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:

• Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (FOLD), up 14% on news of positive results from a clinical trial of a drug candidate.
• Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (MXWL), up 10% on news an automotive electronics maker selected its products.
• Origin Agritech Ltd. (SEED), up 9%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• American Railcar Industries, Inc. (ARII), down 8%.
• TiVo Inc. (TIVO) down 5%.
• ShoreTel Inc. (SHOR) down 4% on news it projects fiscal second-quarter revenue will be below the previously announced range.

ShoreTel, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHOR), a provider of IP telecommunications systems, said today that certain selling stockholders plan to offer 4.4 million shares of ShoreTel common stock in an underwritten public offering.

The small cap specified that it will not be selling any shares in the offering and will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.

Shares of ShoreTel (SHOR) were halted in pre-market trading.