Tag - Aer

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) pushed higher Friday, fighting back from a midday slide into the red as commodity stocks, homebuilders and airline stocks offset another rough day for banks. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Aercap Holdings (NYSE:AER), US Airways Group (Nasdaq:NYSE:LCC) and Polypore International (NYSE:PPO).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Ahead of the open, the consumer price index came out at minus 0.7%, which was slightly below the forecast of minus 0.9%.
• The Michigan sentiment survey was reported at 61.9%, which was better than the forecast of 59.0. 
• Crude oil prices climbed 3.1% today, adding $1.11 a barrel to $36.51, which likely helped stabilize energy and other commodity markets.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 0.8%. 
• A slide in the U.S. dollar today likely helped support various commodity markets and provide a cushion for commodity-tied stocks.
• Within the commodities realm, oil refiners and gas utilities were strong performers today.
• In the physical market, corn prices shot up 6% amid worries about a drought in Argentina, which competes with U.S. farmers on the global market.
• Airline stocks in general were solid performers today, with the AMEX Airline Index up 4.6%. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Aercap Holdings NV soared 22% to the highest daily close since early November. See (NYSE:AER).
• Small-cap carrier US Airways Group Inc. climbed 13% a day after the emergency crash landing in New York’s Hudson River was pulled off without . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Friday, fighting back from a midday slide into the red as commodity stocks, homebuilders and airline stocks offset another rough day for banks. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 3.82, or 0.83%, at 466.45, but still lost 3.1% for the week. For the year, small caps are off 6.6%, while the Dow is down 5.6% and the S&P 500 is down 5.9%.

Banks have been the dominant focal point for investors this week, and it has been a brutal period for some of the world’s most prominent financial firms. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) tumbled 48% for the week and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) shed 45% while posting its first quarterly loss in 17 years and the lowest daily close in more than a decade. Even news overnight that the government was extending another $20 billion of direct injection into BAC and guaranteeing $118 billion of assets couldn’t stem the selling tide today; BAC lost another 13.7%.

We’re only a little more than halfway through the month of January, but according to the S&P sector groups the biggest three losers are diversified financial services firms (down 38%); diversified banks (down 35%) and regional banks (down 27%). There is a segment of the investment community that doesn’t believe the market will go higher without leadership from the financial sector – if they are right, then the New Year is off to a troubling start indeed.

Even though it has been a dour start for banks this year, it’s interesting to note that call activity for Citigroup is starting to pick up steam, suggesting that investors are trying to take a shot at bargain hunting for the embattled firm. This afternoon, Bill Gross, leader of the world’s largest bond fund at PIMCO, said that the . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Tuesday, as investors tried to balance ongoing worries about the economy and corporate profits versus hope for fresh stimulus funds. Short-term oversold conditions likely played a supportive role as well. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Targanta Therapeutics (Nasdaq:TARG), ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq:ZGEN) and Aercap Holdings NV (NYSE:AER).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The market appeared to slip initially, then staged a recovery move during the first speech of the year by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
• Bernanke said this morning that TARP funds should be directed toward toxic mortgage-backed assets, which was news that traders seemed to openly embrace.
• The international trade report showed that the U.S. deficit narrowed by 28.7% in November, which marked the largest contraction in 12 years. 
• On the commodities scene, gold climbed and copper reversed a big overnight decline in Asia to trend higher.
• Crude oil prices closed out the day with a modest gain of $0.19 a barrel, which was off the U.S. trading session highs, but still quite a bit better than losses seen in overseas action.
• Gains in energy and other commodities were hampered somewhat today by a strong tone in the U.S. dollar, which rose 1.4% against the euro. 
• Looking ahead to Wed., the market will see a ramp up of econ data, with retail sales, import prices and biz inventories out in the morning. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• The Medicines Company announced it will acquire Targanta Therapeutics. Targanta shares closed up a whopping 109%. See (Nasdaq:TARG).
• Bristol-Myers to buy ZymoGenetics’ experimental Hepatitis C drug. Shares of ZymoGenetics popped 26%. See (Nasdaq:ZGEN).
• Aercap Holdings NV soared 25% as the Netherlands aviation firm . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Tuesday, as investors tried to balance ongoing worries about the economy and corporate profits versus hope for fresh stimulus funds. Short-term oversold conditions likely played a supportive role as well. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 4.99, or 1.06%, at 473.79 and is now down 5.1% for the year, while the Dow is off 3.7% and the S&P 500 is down 3.4%.

As the market lurches forward into the earnings season, the picture remains gloomy with Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) kicking off the proceedings Monday after with a larger-than-expected loss and big-cap bellwether General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) taking a hefty 5.6% hit today amid negative analyst comments. In general, no one is expecting earnings to be a positive story, but if things veer too far south of an already dour forecast, it could generate enough worries to send the market back toward a retest of the lows. All that said, in some ways it’s actually a positive to see the overall market holding up reasonably well today given the slide in GE shares.

Despite the seeming preponderance of negative input again today, small caps held in well throughout the session, perhaps hinting that some investors are willing to take a shot at riskier fare given the recent pullback off the highs. In addition, energy and commodity stocks often have a powerful directional bias on small caps and those sectors were on better footing today.

Crude oil prices closed out the day with a modest gain of $0.19 a barrel, which was off the U.S. trading session highs, but still quite a bit better than losses seen in overseas action. U.S. crude finished up 0.5% at $37.78, underpinned by talk from Saudi officials that they had cut production beyond the scope of previous announcements and by a brutal cold front pushing into the northern Midwest that could spike up . . .

Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:IDEV), Macquarie Infrastructure Co LLC (Nasdaq:MIC) and Crosstex Energy Inc (Nasdaq:XTXI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Hiland Partners LP (Nasdaq:HLND), Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd (Nasdaq:ALDN), Crosstex Energy LP (Nasdaq:XTEX), Aercap Holdings NV (Nasdaq:AER), Taylor Capital Group Inc (Nasdaq:TAYC) and Double Eagle Petroleum Co (Nasdaq:DBLE).

Small-cap stocks started out the first full week of 2009’s trading in choppy, bifurcated fashion, with support from energy and homebuilding stocks countered by selling in banking, financial, gold, telecom and drug shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER), Atlas Pipeline Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:AHD) and VisionChina Media (Nasdaq:VISN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Homebuilder stocks were a strong performer today, climbing 6% amid news that the New York Federal Reserve started buying mortgage-backed securities today.  
• Energy stocks were a prominent supportive influence today, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund climbing 2.3%.  
• Vehicle sales were absolutely awful, but that was expected, and investors saw silver linings in the various reports.  
• Construction spending was off 0.6%, compared with the forecast for a slide of 1.3%.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Amsterdam based AerCap Holdings N.V. is up 55.6% to 5.01. The integrated global aviation company today said it signed a $1.4 billion facility agreement for A330 financing. (See NYSE:AER)  
• Energy services provider Atlas Pipeline Holdings, L.P. is up 28.7% to $5.38. The Pennsylvania co. engages in the transmission, gathering, and processing of natural gas and natural gas liquids. (See NYSE:AHD)
• VisionChina Media, an out-of-home digital television advertising network, this morning announced the renewal of an exclusive contract with Beijing Subway. Shares are up 22.7% to $7.07. (See Nasdaq:VISN)  
• Natural gas company MarkWest Energy is up 20.5% to $11.46. The CNBC stock blog is reporting that traders have been buying calls in MarkWest for the past week. (See NYSE:MWE)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Needham today downgraded Faro Technologies to "Hold" from "Buy." Shares are down 8.5% to $16.09. Faro makes computerized measurement devices used by manufacturers. (See Nasdaq:FARO)  
• California Pizza Kitchen In.c is down 8.7% to $9.99 after a downgrade by B. Riley & Co. (See Nasdaq:CPKI)  
• Fingerprinting-device maker Cogent Systems Inc. is 8,8% lower after a downgrade by Stanford Research. (See Nasdaq:COGT)  
• Calif-based UCBH holdings, which operates as the bank holding company for United Commercial Bank, is down 11% to $5.92 after a downgrade by DA Davidson. (See Nasdaq:UCBH)