Tag - SMOD

Industrial Services America Inc (Nasdaq:IDSA), Smart Modular Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:SMOD), Pathfinders Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:PBHC) and Titan Machy Inc (Nasdaq:TITN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Small-cap stocks opened in the red and stayed there all day, as concerns about soaring crude oil prices, a sharp slump in the U.S. dollar, soft economic numbers and the credit crunch on financial institutions kept the sellers energized throughout the session and spurred safe haven flows away from equities toward credit markets. In the end, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 2.81, or 0.38%, at 735.64. It was the third-consecutive lower daily close for small caps, something that hasn’t happened since early April.

The tone for a gloomy session was established overnight when equity index markets around the world took it in the chin. European shares notched their largest one-day decline in two months, while China tumbled 5.1%, Hong Kong lost 2.2%, Taiwan was down 2.4%, Singapore down 1.2%, Bombay off 1.1% and Japan down 0.7%.

Money appeared to flow freely away from equities and into commodities and bonds. Speaking of commodities, the No. 1 physical market in the world — crude oil — shot to new record highs yet again, and is now on the doorstep of $130 dollars a barrel. Joining in the chorus of higher commodities was gold, which climbed 1.6%. Grains also pushed higher, benefiting from the slide in the U.S. dollar. As for the greenback, it was hammered against the euro, sinking about 150 basis points, or nearly 1%, all of which feeds into the short dollar/long commodities mindset.

A sobering reality of the seemingly never-ending rise in gasoline and food prices is that consumer discretionary spending funds dry up, which slows the U.S. economy and hurts corporations — especially those with hefty commodity price inputs. Even stepping outside of the food and energy sector, the news wasn’t good today. The Producer Price Index report was released this morning, and although the headline figure came in below the forecast, the “core” reading, which excludes food and energy prices, was well above the forecast, meaning businesses are facing rising . . .

Small caps declined after the ring of Tuesday’s opening bell, attempted to mount a comeback at noon after breaking through initial resistance, but declined during afternoon trading. Soaring crude oil prices, worrisome economic reports, the sinking greenback and a decline in international markets are burdening investors. Weak retail reports and Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn’s comments that policymakers are likely to hold interest rates steady provided additional concern for Wall Street.

At 2:09 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 4.70, or 0.64%, at 733.75.

Crude oil jumped to a new record high, climbing above $129 dollars a barrel amid tight stocks for diesel fuel and solid demand out of China and South America that is countering soft demand from the United States. With gasoline prices in some metropolitan areas moving above $4 dollars a gallon, another record high in crude oil will not likely be embraced by stock market traders, even if a handful of energy stocks stand to benefit.

The Labor Department’s producer price index report showed higher energy and food costs might be inflicting damage on other parts of the economy. The producer price index rose 0.2%, better than the expected 0.4% rise. However, skyrocketing gas prices mean the data is quickly outdated. Investors were more interested in the “core” producer price index, which edged up 0.4%, doubling expectations. This jump in the core tightens margins for businesses and forces them to consider raising prices, which can be suicidal in a sluggish economy where consumer discretionary spending . . .

Small-cap shares opened lower, pulled down by soaring crude oil prices, troubling economic data, a decline in overseas equities and a sinking greenback. At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was off 3.25, or 0.44%, at 735.20.

Crude oil jumped to a new record high, climbing above $129 dollars a barrel amid tight stocks for diesel fuel and solid demand out of China and South America that is countering soft demand from the United States. With gasoline prices in some metropolitan areas moving above $4 dollars a gallon, another record high in crude oil will not likely be embraced by stock market traders, even if a handful of energy stocks stand to benefit.

This morning’s PPI report was a mixed bag at first glance, with the headline figure coming in at 0.2%, which was better than the forecast for a rise of 0.4%. However, with gasoline prices still soaring, that figure already seems out of date, and investors were much more concerned about a jump in the “core” PPI, which climbed to 0.4% — above the forecast for a rise to 0.2%. The core rate excludes food and energy prices, which means there are other price pressures in the pipeline to be concerned about as well. This jump in the core tightens margins for businesses and forces them to consider raising prices, which can be suicidal in a sluggish economy where consumer discretionary spending is already pinched by lofty food and energy costs.

Other economic data this morning also had a soft tone, as weekly chain store sales were off 0.4% last week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. In addition, the Chicago Federal Reserve National Activity Index slipped to minus . . .

Shares of Smart Modular Technologies (WWH), Inc. (Nasdaq:SMOD) are losing ground in pre-market trading after the manufacturer of memory modules, solid state drives, embedded computing subsystems, and TFT-LCD display products, lowered its fiscal third-quarter guidance this morning.

Business was negatively impacted by a difficult pricing environment resulting in lost market share, slower than expected ramp of high density memory modules and a higher than expected overall effective tax rate

Shares flopped 15%, or $0.93, to $5.50 in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Smart Modular Technologies, click SMOD.

The Russell 2000 had an "inside session" recovery Thursday, rising 17.29, or 2.60%, to 681.42. The market was able to post a solid advance for the holiday-shortened week despite a sloppy start on Monday, and now needs to hold above 650 this week to help validate any bottoming theories in play.

There is very little solid chart support until we get back down to 667 and 660, but there might be some buying interest on a dip toward 674 if the market starts out soft. On the upside, resistance is at 686, then just below 700. Existing home sales data comes out this  morning at 10:00 a.m. ET and could spark a little volatility.