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Recession be damned, Americans appear determined to spend what they can this holiday season.

MarketWatch reports that the National Retail Federation survey indicated that the number of shoppers jumped 8.7 percent over the four day holiday weekend, and that average spending rose 6.4 percent.

Small-cap stocks hovered near steady levels into mid-session trading, with support from retail, homebuilder and financial shares countered by sinking energy and technology shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are ParkerVision, Inc.  (Nasdaq:PRKR), Tidelands Bancshares (Nasdaq:TDBK) and Insulet Corp. (Nasdaq:PODD).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The slide in physical markets took a toll on energy stocks as well, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund down 3.3%.  
• Crude oil prices tumbled to near four-year lows amid worries about a global recession, finding little comfort in a fresh string of rate cuts  
• In a familiar theme this week, homebuilder shares were still a hot item today. The ISE Homebuilders Index was up more than 7%.  
• The International Council of Shopping Centers said that November sales plunged a record 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Small Cap Gainers:

• ParkerVision, Inc. and LG Innotek enter into joint development agreement; PRKR pops 60%. See (Nasdaq:PRKR).
• Tidelands Bancshares up 47% on light volume. See (Nasdaq:TDBK).  
• Insulet Corp. rose 23% as the medical device company that specializes in diabetes continues to climb after bottoming out in late November. See (Nasdaq:PODD). 
• Buckle Inc. rose 22% as the apparel and accessory merchant registered a 15% jump in comp store sales. See (NYSE:BKE).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Dynamex Inc. dropped 21%, gapping lower as the delivery and logistics provider also took a lump after reporting earnings. See (Nasdaq:DDMX).  
• Diamond Foods Inc. gapped lower and tumbled 20% as investors weren’t impressed with earnings results from the snack foods distributor. See (Nasdaq:DMND).  
• Movado Group Inc. is down 15% as the boutique operator and fashion distributor took a hit after releasing earnings. See (NYSE:MOV).

Small-cap stocks hovered near steady levels into mid-session trading, with support from retail, homebuilder and financial shares countered by sinking energy and technology shares. At 12:36 p.m. ET the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.06, or 0.01% at 453.82, while the Dow and S&P 500 were both suffering losses approaching 1%.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said that November sales plunged a record 2.7% on a year-over-year basis as very few major retailers were able to generate positive sales numbers. Despite the gloomy news, investors made a risky bet that this marked a bottom point for retailers and that all the bad news was already priced into the market. The S&P Retail Index was actually up nearly 5% at midday.

In a familiar theme this week, homebuilder shares were still a hot item today. The ISE Homebuilders Index was up more than 7%. Small-cap firms like Centex Corp. (NYSE:CTX) were up 12%, while Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) was up about 14%. In recent days, there has been a growing hope that a new push to lower mortgage rates will strike up activity in the downtrodden housing arena, and indeed this week’s MBA Mortgage Application Index jumped a whopping 112% to the highest point since mid-February. That’s not to say all the economic news is roses and cream; after all, today’s factory orders report was below expectations and the worst showing in eight years and the number of Americans forced to file for extended unemployment insurance is at 26 year highs.

The energy market is clearly not comfortable today with the economic picture around the world. Crude oil prices tumbled to near four-year lows amid worries about a global recession, finding little comfort in a fresh string of rate cuts from central bankers in Europe overnight. The slide in physical markets took a toll on energy stocks as well, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund down 3.3%.

Individual small caps making noteworthy moves today include Parkervision Inc. (Nasdaq:PRKR), which gapped higher and soared some 65% on unusually heavy volume amid news that the wireless communications firm has entered into a joint . . .

Penson Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq:PNSN), Buckle Inc. (Nasdaq:BKE) and Protective Life Corp. (Nasdaq:PL) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Crosstex Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:XTXI), VisionChina Media Inc. (Nasdaq:VISN), Crosstex Energy L.P (Nasdaq:XTEX), Chart Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:GTLS), AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (Nasdaq:AHS) and Oplink Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:OPLK).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Pearl River, N.Y.-based Traffix, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRFX) had net revenue of $19.8 million for the quarter ended May 31, 4.4% higher compared with net revenue of $19.0 million a year earlier, the interactive media company reported this morning. Analysts were forecasting revenue of $18.5 million. Shares are up $0.01, or 0.16%, to $6.45.

Shares of Asiainfo Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASIA) are higher following news this morning that the Chinese software solutions company has signed a contract with a subsidiary of China Telecom to deploy an integrated account inquiry system. The stock is up $0.23, or 2%, to $10.50.