Tag - UCBA

LSI Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:LYTS), United Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:UCBA) and Chindex International Inc. (Nasdaq:CHDX) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.     

Also included among the results: Eagle Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:EGBN), Omega Flex Inc. (Nasdaq:OFLX), BancTrust Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BTFG), ECB Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:ECBE), Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:SCMP) and La-Z-Boy Inc. (Nasdaq:LZB).       

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:      

After opening higher, small caps have been beaten down mid-session, as crude oil futures gushed higher and the troubled financial sector weighed on stocks. At 1:37 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 1.81, or 0.25%, at 723.92.

Crude oil prices were up to $137.76 a barrel in recent trading after reports surfaced that Israel executed a practice strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Additionally, revelations that Shell cannot meet its contractual obligations to export oil from Nigeria provided support for higher crude prices. One of Shell’s Nigerian oil fields was attacked by militants on Thursday.

In morning trading, crude was trading lower following a weekend pledge from Saudi Arabia to increase production. However, the announcement was widely expected and any bump from the announcement was already baked into crude futures. Some investors also saw the Saudi offer as fraudulent because it was so small.

Despite the rise in crude oil prices, the dollar is up against the yen and euro in Monday midday trading.

In large cap headlines, Bunge Ltd. (NYSE:BG), a giant fertilizer and oilseed processing company, announced plans to purchase Corn Products International (NYSE:CPO) in a deal worth $4.4 billion. Investors reacted negatively to the announcement, with BG shares down more than 11% in midday action. The stock is moving lower even though Bunge increased its earnings forecast. CPO has jumped some 17% on the news.

Financial stocks have been pummeled in recent weeks by investors amid ongoing worries about the credit crunch. Although some stocks in the financial zone might benefit from bargain hunters this week, there were additional analyst downgrades on banks and against home lenders overnight, which could keep that area on the defensive. Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) were off early today after Lehman Bros. analysts increased their loss forecast on the pair.