Tag - Arow

Small-cap stocks shot higher Tuesday, lifted by a renewed sense of optimism that the logjam in Washington on the financial rescue plan will be cleared. Upbeat economic data and a rush of bargain hunting also played into the huge rally in stocks. For the day, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 21.87, or 3.32%, at 679.58. For the year, small-cap stocks are now down 11.2%, while the Dow is off 18.1% and the S&P 500 is down 20.7%.

The market retained diabolical volatility; just one day after Wall Street endured the worst day since the 1987 stock market crash, they enjoyed the best day in six years today. Financial stocks – especially banks – were back in favor today, helped by talk that accounting regulations could be changed to allow more favorable rules on asset valuation. The PHLX KBW Banking Index shot up 15.7%, which is a stunning one-day advance for that product. Among individual large-cap banks, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was up 15.6%, while JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) rallied 13.9%.

The market took heart in talk from President Bush that a financial rescue bill would still be resuscitated this week, which triggered a rush of pent-up buying from investors who see value at current levels. That said, recent volatility underscores that the tone can shift violently at a moment’s notice.

Although investors are too preoccupied with the to and fro between Wall Street and Washington on the rescue plan front to pay much attention to economic data, a couple of reports this morning topped the forecast and likely helped retain the positive mood. The Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Survey came in at 56.7, which was . . .

Arrow Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:AROW), Danvers Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:DNBK) and Alpha Security Group Corp. (Nasdaq:HDS) are among the new 52-week highs in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Here are the new 52-week highs among small caps: