Tag - Acmr

All major indices were trading down for much of today's session with the Nasdaq leading the losses by shedding 0.19% to close at 1,858.80. In late trading the Dow closed at 8,799.26 for a modest gain of 0.32% and the S&P 500 closed up 0.14% to finish the day at 946.21.

The Russell 2000, the widely followed index of the largest 2,000 small cap stocks, closed down today at 524.32 losing 0.33%.

Leading the small-cap gainers today was Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SVNT) up 56% to close at $9.26 on news that the Food and Drug Administration said that the firm's gout treatment drug, Krystexxa, works. Based in East Brunswick, NJ, Savient makes specialty biopharmaceuticals as was founded in 1980.

Other small-cap leading gainers include WSP Holdings (NYSE:WH) up 24.5%; Independent Bank Corporation (Nasdaq:IBCPO) up 22.4%; and AC Moore Arts & Crafts (Nasdaq:ACMR) up 16.4%.

Small-cap decliners were lead by Hawaii-based Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq:HOKU) down 30.3% to close at $3.05. Hoku, a raw materials provider for the solar industry, announced that it may be unable to fund its operations over the next year and stated that it will not provide guidance for fiscal year 2010.

The other small-cap stocks posting big share price drops include iPCS (Nasdaq:IPCS) down 21.6%; P&F Industries (Nasdaq:PFIN) down 19.9%; and one of Wednesday's big gainers, Corel (Nasdaq:CREL), which slid 18.4%.

*****Its worse in Europe than here in the U.S. Industrial production dropped 1.9% in a particularly cruel April, nearly double the 1% drop that was expected. First quarter GDP was also down 2.5% for the 16 Euro-zone countries.

The recession there seems far from over, and Europe's weakness might be contagious because it should act as a stark reminder just how tenuous global economic recovery is.

*****Oil prices may have just hit their blow-off highs above $72 yesterday. As you know, I was early to the oil stock party. My SmallCapInvestor PRO readers took a 142% gain on one stock, Gulfport Energy (Nasdaq:GPOR), and we're holding +60% on another. And of course, if you've been following closely over the past six months you know that I've been in and out of Graham (AMEX:GHM) several times.

Now, it's getting late and I suspect the party might be ending, at least for a brief pause. I'm not calling for oil prices to crash. And the $33 a barrel price we saw back in February may never be seen again. But oil stocks, and stocks in general, are due for a pullback.

The 2nd Quarter ends June 30. And it would be reasonable to expect institutional investors to lock in some gains. I'm sure they are using put options to do some hedging, which helps explain the recent rise in volatility. But I also won't be surprised to see some outright selling. And it might have started with yesterday's afternoon drop for the indices.

The Dow Industrials were up well over 100 points in the early afternoon, but couldn't hold it as a late wave of selling left it with a gain of just 30. That's the opposite pattern of what we've seen for much of this rally. Institutional investors have been buying late in the day, supporting prices and leaving stocks with daily gains.

Institutional activity usually occurs at the beginning and end of the trading day, so this is something to keep an eye on.

*****Brazil, Russia, China and India contribute 15% to global GDP, but they have 42% of the world's currency reserves. And they may be on the verge of throwing their liquidity weight around.

Bloomberg reports that these countries will hold their first summit next week, and it's widely expected that they will announce that they are increasing their holdings of IMF bonds. Yes, that comes at the expense of U.S. bond holdings.

Apparently, fears of rising deficits and the potential inflation from an expanded money supply in the U.S. are driving them to diversify a bit.

Investors should take note. While the U.S. muddles through, and Europe continues to be mired in recession, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are the only countries in the world that can support their economies without taking on debt.

Chinese stocks are the ones I'm bullish on right now. If there is a slight pullback later this month, then Chinese stocks will suffer the least and more importantly, present great buying opportunities before the next leg up. To get my top Chinese selections, click HERE.

*****Finally, as I announced yesterday, TradeMaster Daily Stock Alerts technical analyst Jason Cimpl has graciously agreed to give us a weekly forecast for the stock market. You can access his video analysis and commentary HERE.

Small-cap stocks closed lower in a topsy-turvy session that saw a morning rally snuffed out in favor of a steep midday slide, then an abrupt afternoon recovery move that must have left day traders dizzy from the volatility. In the end, the market was unable to recapture the morning bid as financial stocks were beat down by renewed fears on the credit crunch front and by safe haven money flow from stocks to bonds. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) dipped 2.01, or 0.27%, to 739.00.

For the second day in a row, the spotlight moved back to banking, brokerage and the financial sector. The poster child for today’s action was Lehman Bros. (NYSE:LEH), whose stock was hammered some 14% at one point, sinking to the lowest point since March 17 on reports that the firm might seek to raise capital. The company said it did not access the Fed’s discount window today, which helped lift the stock off the lows in the afternoon. Although there was some debate about whether or not Lehman indeed would seek to bolster their balance sheet by raising capital, some investors appeared to adopt a “sell now, ask questions later” approach to the news, remembering the fallout from the Bear Stearns collapse.

Despite lingering concerns about debt write downs tied to the credit crisis, the market actually started out on a strong note today, with the Russell climbing nearly 0.75% to the highs before stalling. At first blush, there appeared to be plenty of bullish fodder to fuel a recovery move after Monday’s big decline, as investors embraced comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, crude oil prices took a nosedive and the dollar strengthened. However, the market could not shake the credit crunch jitters that triggered the selling push both Monday and again today, and before long all the green prints in equity products had turned to a sea of red.

Bernanke addressed the dollar in a much greater scope than what the market tends to see from the head of the Federal Reserve, which got the attention of foreign exchange traders and sparked a big rally in the greenback. The dollar was trading lower against the euro ahead of the Bernanke comments, but tumbled some 200 basis points from high to low, which in turn triggered a slide in crude oil and a host of other commodity markets. This was the first public policy appearance by Bernanke in weeks, and he also said that until the housing market stabilizes that growth risk was to the downside. The rare Fed attention on the dollar left an impression with market watchers that Bernanke was focused on inflation and that rate cuts are on . . .

Shares of A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACMR) are higher on news on Friday that the retailer swung to a profit during the 2007 year. The Berlin, N.J.-based company reported that net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, was $3.8 million, or $0.19 per share, compared with a net loss of $0.4 million, or $0.02 per share, in 2006.

“While we have posted increases in gross margin rate and EPS, we must continue to focus on execution at the corporate and store level to improve profitability,” CEO Rick Lepley said in a statement.

At 1:38 p.m. ET, the stock had climbed $1.12, or 20%, to $6.67.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) gained despite news of government reports and minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve that showed economic problems. The small-cap index added 7.68 points, or 1.09%, to 710.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) advanced 90.04 points, or 0.73%, to 12,427.26.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 7.31%, while the Dow is down 6.31% and the S&P 500 has shed 7.38%.

Small-cap stocks moved up for the second consecutive session but began the day in negative territory following news that the consumer price index added 0.4% in January, above the expected 0.3%.

The U.S. Labor Department also reported that core consumer prices, which exclude the costs of food and energy, increased 0.3%, above the projected 0.2%.

Core prices have added 2.5% on a year-over-year basis, which is beyond the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred range of between 1% and 2%. Worse, annual consumer prices growth has accelerated from 2.4% in December 2007.

The rise in inflation makes it more difficult for the U.S. Federal Reserve to stimulate the economy by cutting its target federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are falling on news that January inflation outpaced expectations.

At 10:34 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had declined 3.90 points, or 0.56%, to 698.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was down 71.56 points, or 0.58%, to 12,265.66.

The consumer price index added 0.4% in January, the U.S. Labor Department reported before the start of trading. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.3%. Consumer prices have added 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.

The core inflation index, which excludes the price of food and energy, gained 0.3%, above the projected 0.2%. Core prices have added 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has stated that it prefers annual core inflation to be in the range between 1% and 2%.

News of higher-than-expected inflation complicates the Fed’s task of lowering its target interest rate to spur economic growth while simultaneously keeping inflation in check. The U.S. central bank will probably grow more cautious, as any cut in the federal funds rate will give the economy a jolt that could also lead to a rise in prices.

Local.com Corp. (Nasdaq: LOCM), Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (Nasdaq: WOLF) and Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (Nasdaq: LEND) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (Nasdaq: LEND), Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (Nasdaq: WOLF) and China Automotive Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAAS) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Hemosense, Inc. (AMEX: HEM), CompuDyne Corporation (Nasdaq: CDCY) and RAM Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq: RAMR) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers:

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (Nasdaq: WOLF), Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBHI) and A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts (Nasdaq: ACMR) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The Russell 2000 index has diverged from the other major U.S. indices by losing ground this afternoon. At 2:49 ET the Russell 2000 had lost 1.02 points, or 0.12%, to 834.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25.76 points, or 0.19%, to 13,450.15.

Shares of Berlin, N.J.-based specialty retailer A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACMR) are lower following news that President and CEO Lawrence H. Fine has resigned for personal reasons. “This was a very difficult decision for me,” Fine said in a press release before the opening bell. “A.C. Moore has tremendous growth opportunities ahead. I wish the entire A.C. Moore team great future success.”

These are the biggest percentage gainers among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million: