Tag - Acc

Small-cap stocks charged higher Friday, giving beleaguered bulls a happy weekend sendoff. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rose 13.07, or 1.85% to 721.07, the highest daily close since mid-February as investors embraced the latest batch of earnings numbers with open arms.

In a sense, it was a perfect storm of broad-based earnings reactions Friday, with Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) lifting financials, Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG) fueling technology issues, and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) sparking buying interest in the manufacturing sector.

It perhaps took a little creativity on the part of investors to “spin” the Citigroup story into a positive one, as the company still reported massive debt write-downs and missed the earnings estimate. In essence, investors looked through the headline numbers and decided the story on Citigroup was headed toward happier times.

However, no such rose-colored glasses were needed for Google or Caterpillar. Google shot 20% — or about $90 bucks a share — as earnings topped estimates, and Caterpillar, which climbed about 8%, also beat their forecast despite sluggish economic conditions in the manufacturing sector in recent months. Just to add a little extra good vibes into the mix, another manufacturing giant, Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) also reported strong earnings and rose nearly 6% on the day.

April options expirations came into play today, and the market appeared to be out of position on the short side, which likely fueled the rally, said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research with MF Global, in a phone interview. In addition, “there . . .

American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE: ACC) shares are increasing moderately after the real estate investment trust announced it is buying the student housing business of GMH Communities Trust (NYSE: GCT) for about $1.4 billion. The deal includes outstanding debt of approximately $963 million.

American Campus’s board approved the agreement and the transaction is projected to close at the end of the second quarter. American Campus said in a statement that the deal includes the acquisition of 64 student housing properties as well as a minority interest in eight properties held in two existing joint ventures.

In morning trading, ACC shares are up 0.6%, or $0.16, at $26.61. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $23.18 to $31.68.