Tag - Bsdm

China Sunergy Co Ltd (Nasdaq:CSUN), Novatel Wireless Inc (Nasdaq:NVTL) and Retalix Ltd (Nasdaq:RTLX) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.   

Also included among the results: Sierra Wireless Inc. (Nasdaq:SWIR), FX Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:FXEN), InterVoice Inc. (Nasdaq:INTV), Taser International Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), BSD Medical Corp. (Nasdaq:BSDM) and Ultra Clean Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:UCTT).        

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:    

Small-cap shares started out the second half of 2008 with a dramatic downward spiral, as the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) tumbled through the official 20% bear market line, endangering the bottoming premise built off the March through June rally. However, a bullish surprise on manufacturing data sparked a big recovery bounce about 30 minutes after the open. At 10:05 a.m. ET, the Russell was down 1.26, or 0.18%, at 688.40.

The fuel for today’s bearish flurry came from a familiar source: rising crude oil prices and slumping financial stocks. In addition, safe haven money flow away from equities toward credit instruments, physical instruments and cash exacerbated the stock market slide.

The ISM Manufacturing Survey, released at 10:00 a.m. ET, came out at 50.2, which was above the forecast for a reading of 48.6. The upside surprise on the ISM data sparked a sizable recovery bounce in stock index products, with the Russell 2000 shooting some eight handles off the morning lows. It should be noted that although the headline figure was a nice upside surprise for manufacturing activity, the index of prices paid climbed to 91.5, which marked the highest reading since 1979.

Just ahead of the stock market opening, crude oil prices climbed back above $143 dollars a barrel, jumping some $3 dollars from Monday’s U.S. close. The rise in energy markets sparked investor buying in gold, as the yellow metal hit 10-week highs. In addition, the U.S. dollar was taking a beating against the yen, down 0.8%, which makes commodity goods priced in dollars more attractive to Asian investors and end users.

The story in crude oil gathered steam amid heightened geopolitical tension in the Middle East, as rumors of a potential attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel remain on the front burner. Iran has threatened to take action on shipping through the Straight of Hormuz if attacked, and approximately 40% of the world’s fuel supply moves through that waterway. In addition, the International Energy Agency . . .