Tag - Atri

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) posted a large gain and outpaced the other major U.S. indices on good news from bond insurers. The small-cap index added 15.03 points, or 2.16%, to 710.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) climbed 189.20 points, or 1.53%, to 12,570.22.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has retreated 7.25%, while the Dow is down 5.24% and the S&P 500 has declined 6.58%.

Stocks ended the session with a surge on news that rating agency Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed the Triple A rating of bond insurers MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBIA) and Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK).

The past couple of weeks had seen speculation that the companies will be downgraded, a move that will create problems for banks that have invested in bonds and probably lead to more losses due to writedowns on subprime mortgages.

Separately, several banks are planning a $3 bailout of Ambac Financial Group.

The two bond insurers had insured subprime-mortgage debt and are suffering the consequences of the ongoing stagnation in the U.S. housing sector.

Speaking of housing, the National Association of Realtors reported after the start of trading that sales fell 0.4% to an annualized rate of 4.89 million units, down from an upwardly revised 4.91 million units in December.

Investors actually took that as bullish news because economists were expecting to see a fall to an annual rate of 4.80 million units.

Perceptron, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRCP), Atrion Corp. (Nasdaq: ATRI) and Oceanaut, Inc. (AMEX: OKN.U) were the only companies to hit new 52-week highs Tuesday among companies with market capitalizations or values under $500 million.

Here are today's 52-week small-cap highs: