Tag - Bsi

Domtar Corp. (Nasdaq:UFS), Midsouth Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:MSL) and ImmunoGen Inc. (Nasdaq:IMGN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Blue Square-Israel ADR (Nasdaq:BSI), OfficeMax Inc. (Nasdaq:OMX), FGX International Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:FGXI), Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (Nasdaq:APL), Broadwind Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:BWEN) and Complete Production Services Inc. (Nasdaq:CPX).

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Tuesday, recapturing all of Monday’s decline as the market continues to gyrate in a sideways consolidation range on light holiday volume. The market started out on a firm note tied to an extension of the Treasury’s automaker bailout, and never looked back. Today's small-cap percentage gainers are: Grand Canyon Education (Nasdaq:LOPE), CH Energy Group (NYSE:CHG), and Force Protection (Nasdaq:FRPT).

Other Market Watch highlights included:

• For now, volume is thinned out by the holiday, and it is best not to make too much of the tame price action.  
• However, if the market starts to trade sideways for too long without managing a push through upside resistance, then it will simply look like a new lower ceiling.  
• For the most part, the sideways action is consistent with a bottoming process off the massive bear market collapse.  
• The chart picture remains stuck in a sideways consolidation pattern.  
• The market started out on a firm note tied to an extension of the Treasury’s automaker bailout, and never looked back

Small Cap Gainers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk highs: Grand Canyon Education, CH Energy Group, Force Protection, Rochester Medical and South Jersey Industries. See (Nasdaq:LOPE, NYSE:CHG, Nasdaq:FRPT, Nasdaq:ROCM, NYSE:SJI ) 
• Franklin Street Properties Corp is up 9.2% after news late Monday it will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 after Wednesday's close. See (NYSE:FSP)  
• Beauty products company Elizabeth Arden Inc. is up 9.1% to $11.71 after Wedbush Morgan upgrade to "Buy" from "Hold," with a $15 price target. See (Nasdaq:RDEN)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk lows: Skilled Healthcare Group, Blue Square Israel Ltd, and Take-Two Interactive Software. (See NYSE:SKH, NYSE:BSI, Nasdaq:TTWO) 
• Biopharma company Maxygen, Inc., which focuses on developing improved versions of protein drugs, is down 10.4% to $8.11. See (Nasdaq:MAXY)  
• Boutique investment banking firm Evercore Partners is down 8.7% to $12.05 after Keefe Bruyette downgrade to "Market Perform" from "Outperform." See (NYSE:EVR) 

Skilled Healthcare Group Inc (Nasdaq:SKH), Blue Square-Israel ADR (Nasdaq:BSI) and WNS Holdings Ltd (Nasdaq:WNS) are among the new 52-week lows in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Small-cap stocks pushed higher into mid-session, lifted by gains in technology stocks, retailers, homebuilders and insurers, which more than countered weakness in commodity names. Today's small-cap percentage gainers are : Grand Canyon Education (Nasdaq:LOPE), CH Energy Group (NYSE:CHG), and Force Protection (Nasdaq:FRPT).

Other Market Watch highlights included:

• Retailer shares were on the rise today, with the S&P Retail Index up 2.0%.  
• Homebuilders were once again attracting buyers after several days of setbacks. The ISE Homebuilder Index was up 3.7%, handily outpacing the overall market advance.
• The best performers: commercial printers, auto parts suppliers, chemical companies, office electronics firms, wireless telecoms, motorcycle manufacturers, life health insurers and tire companies.  
• A better-than-expected showing on Midwest manufacturing kept all the fresh economic news from being awful, and even that number was still historically low. 
• The market was able to weather another batch of troubling data on the economy, with home prices generating the largest decline on record and consumer confidence sinking to a record low.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk highs: Grand Canyon Education, CH Energy Group, Force Protection, Rochester Medical and South Jersey Industries. See (Nasdaq:LOPE, NYSE:CHG, Nasdaq:FRPT, Nasdaq:ROCM, NYSE:SJI ) 
• Franklin Street Properties Corp is up 9.2% after news late Monday it will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 after Wednesday's close. See (NYSE:FSP)  
• Beauty products company Elizabeth Arden Inc. is up 9.1% to $11.71 after Wedbush Morgan upgrade to "Buy" from "Hold," with a $15 price target. See (Nasdaq:RDEN)  

Small Cap Losers:

• Among today's small-cap 52-wk lows: Skilled Healthcare Group, Blue Square Israel Ltd, and Take-Two Interactive Software. (See NYSE:SKH, NYSE:BSI, Nasdaq:TTWO) 
• Biopharma company Maxygen, Inc., which focuses on developing improved versions of protein drugs, is down 10.4% to $8.11. See (Nasdaq:MAXY)  
• Boutique investment banking firm Evercore Partners is down 8.7% to $12.05 after Keefe Bruyette downgrade to "Market Perform" from "Outperform." See (NYSE:EVR) 

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) fell hard today as the stain from the subprime mortgage meltdown spread. The small-cap index let go 20.96 points, or 3.07%, to 662.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) declined 214.60 points, or 1.75%, to 12,040.39.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is down 13.48%, while the Dow has retreated 9.23% and the S&P 500 has shed 11.17%.

The bears completely dominated trading today on news before the start of trading that investment company Carlyle Capital Corp. Ltd. had failed to meet a margin call and received a notice of default from one of the banks that helps finance its portfolio of mortgage securities.

Similarly, Santa Fe, N.M.-based residential mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc. (NYSE: TMA) announced after the close on Wednesday that it had failed to meet a margin call of about $28 million.

A “margin call” is when banks call in their loans to investors, who are in turn forced to sell off assets to raise cash, leading to a reduction in the price of those assets and more margin calls and losses.

Today’s news raised fears that the credit squeeze and the consequences of the housing downturn will continue plaguing the financial system.