Tag - Cizn

Horizon Lines, Inc. (NYSE:HRZ), Preferred Bank (Nasdaq:PFBC) and NetGear, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTGR) were among the new 52-week lows established during Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

Trailer Bridge, Inc. (Nasdaq:TRBR), VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (Nasdaq:VDSI) and Citizens Holding Co. (Nasdaq:CIZN) were also among the 52-week small-cap lows.

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

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) closed in negative territory as investors digested news of economic reports. The small-cap index fell 8.54 points, or 1.13%, to 745.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 12.76 points, or 0.10%, to 13,056.72.

Small-cap stocks opened the session in positive territory but lost steam during the second half of trading and fell into the red.

The bullish pre-market mood was due to a report by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP), which claimed that U.S. nonfarm private employment increased 40,000 in December. The provider of business outsourcing solutions attributed the rise to small- and medium-sized businesses, which added 75,000 jobs while larger companies cut 35,000.

The December figure was larger than forecasted but is almost three times below the average for three-month period from September through November.

A slowdown in employment growth is consistent with a slowdown in economic growth.

Breaking down the numbers, employment in the service-providing sector was up, while the goods-producing sector suffered its thirteenth consecutive monthly decline and manufacturing employment fell for the eighteenth consecutive month.

In other employment news, U.S. Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 29 fell 21,000 to 336,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised figure of 357,000.

However, many consider the government’s statistics to be imprecise due to the distorting effects of the Christmas holiday, which decreased the time laid-off workers have to file for benefits.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) slipped into negative territory while most of the other major U.S. indices remain in the green. At 2:32 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had lost 3.60 points, or 0.48%, to 749.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 38.45 points, or 0.25%, to 13,082.41.

Small-cap stocks fell at about 1 p.m. ET, defying the modestly bullish mood that set over Wall Street following the release of jobs data.

A report by the Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP), a provider of business outsourcing solutions, showed that nonfarm private employment increased a more-than-expected 40,000 in December.

But there is still cause for concern, as the figure is about three times smaller than the monthly averages for the months of September through November.

Separately, the U.S. Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 29 fell 21,000 to 336,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised total of 357,000.

The more stable four-week moving average was 343,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 344,500.

Phazar Corp. (Nasdaq: ANTP), NovaStar Financial Inc. (NYSE: NFI) and Sterling Banks, Inc. (Nasdaq: STBK) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers: