Tag - Cvg

The Russell 2000 edged slightly higher in a relatively tame post-holiday session, . . .

Even though the market is still hammered for the year, today’s rally was a significant rise for the stock market, small caps included. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rallied 7.6% for the second-largest one-day gain of the year. Today’s small-cap gainers are Dineequity (Nasdaq:DIN), Synutra International (Nasdaq:SYUT) and Quest Energy Partners (Nasdaq:QELP).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Conference Board reported today that consumer confidence plunged to 41-year lows. With two-thirds of the U.S. economy driven by consumer spending, a retrenched mood into peak holiday season purchasing activity is a troubling sign.
• Some of the renewed faith in the market on Tuesday could very well be tied to optimism ahead of the Federal Reserve’s announcement on interest rates Wednesday afternoon. 
• Inter-bank rates slipped again overnight for the twelfth straight trading day, which many hope is a sign that things are getting better in the ongoing credit crisis.
• The only areas of pronounced weakness today were household appliances, building products, health care facilities and homebuilders.
• Energy stocks were a clear source of strength for the stock market today, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund jumping some 9%. 
• Despite the rise in energy shares, crude oil prices were skittish to join the buying party and closed down about $0.50 a barrel. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Dineequity Inc. soared some 81% and has now charged some 192% off the lows from Monday. See (NYSE:DIN). 
• Synutra International, Inc. closed up 51% on light volume. See (Nasdaq:SYUT). 
• Quest Energy Partners declares cash distribution for Q3 2008. Stock price closed up 27.5%. See (Nasdaq:QELP). 
• Shares of ARM Holdings closed up 29% after the tech company reported . . .

Parexel International Corporation (Nasdaq:PRXL), Kendle International Inc. (Nasdaq:KNDL) and Convergys Corp. (Nasdaq:CVG) are among the new 52-week lows in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Ceradyne Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDN), American Ecology Corp. (Nasdaq:ECOL), Cynosure Inc. (Nasdaq:CYNO), Crane Co. (Nasdaq:CR), Hill International Inc. (Nasdaq:HIL) and Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. (Nasdaq:GLRE).

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

Parexel International Corporation (Nasdaq:PRXL), Meritage Homes Corp. (Nasdaq:MTH) and Rent-A-Center Inc. (Nasdaq:RCII) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Cynosure Inc. (Nasdaq:CYNO), Ceradyne Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDN), LSB Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:LXU), Convergys Corp. (Nasdaq:CVG), Kendle International Inc. (Nasdaq:KNDL) and American Ecology Corp. (Nasdaq:ECOL).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks took flight Wednesday, as investors embraced a spate of relatively positive earnings results and another slide in crude oil as a sign that the market may have weathered the worst of the summer storm. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) jumped 24.39, or 3.68%, to 686.75, notching the fourth-largest one-day advance of the year, powered by gains in financial and tech stocks.

The impressive rally topped off a picture perfect validation of a bullish chart pattern from Tuesday’s recovery bounce off fresh move lows, and further upside action this week would cement the most powerful technical analysis bullish signal in months. In addition, the heightened volatility in recent days fits with similar whipsaw price action at the lows back in January and March.

The market was also able to carve out today’s sizable gains despite another serving of bearish economic headlines. When the market starts to work higher in the face of bearish news, it is considered a classic show of strength — especially if the move is powered by more than just short-covering amid oversold conditions. While we wait for further confirmation of the recovery off Tuesday’s lows, let’s recap what the market overcame on the data front today.

The big report this morning was the Consumer Price Index release. For the second consecutive day, the market was slapped in the face with sobering inflation news. The headline figure for CPI came in at plus 1.1%, which was the largest monthly advance in 26 years. What’s more, the year-over-year increase was at a whopping 5%, which is the largest rise in consumer prices since 1991. In short, the CPI news was every bit as troubling as Tuesday’s Producer Price Index report, where the year-over-year figure was the highest since June 1981. And the inflation data simply adds to the woes from slumping housing, GDP and labor market reports of recent months.

So, if we are truly mired in a slow growth, rising unemployment, escalating inflation world, then why on earth did small caps put together such an impressive rally today? The easy part of that question is that crude oil prices tumbled down to . . .

After a brief pull back after the opening, small caps staged a welcome upward trajectory, breaking this week’s red streak as better-than-expected earnings from Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), the SEC’s initiation to taper the shorting the financial sector has experienced year-to-date and deflating crude served to lift the market.
 
At 1:51 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 14.65, or 2.21%, at 677, while the Dow is up 153.96, or 1.4%, at 11,116.50.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was back on Capitol Hill for day two of his six-month economic progress report. Following a Q&A session in front of the Senate on Tuesday, the Fed Chair told the House a similar version. In testimony in front of the House, Bernanki told regulators that the central bank aims to attain price stability, as inflation in the United States “is too high.”

“Bernanke is stuck between a rock and a hard place right now regarding the economy,” said Bill Greiner, chief investment officer for UMB Asset Management and UMB Bank, and chief economist for Scout Investment Advisors. “The Fed’s priority has been trying to maintain stability in the financial system this year. The collateral damage of that focus now is that they’re going to try to keep the system liquid and not pay strict attention to what’s going on in the inflation world … I think they will be [hawkish] into 2009. They started jawboning about six weeks ago — trying to talk interest rates up, talking about the idea of tightening money supply by increasing interest rates some time in the not so distant future. But then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac happened.”

As the Fed Chair again addressed slower growth coupled with inflationary pressures that confront the economy, his comments proved timely in the face of troubling consumer price index data.

The headline figure for CPI clocked in at plus 1.1%, which was the largest monthly advance in 26 years. What’s more, the year-over-year increase was at a whopping 5%, which is the largest rise in consumer prices since 1991. Today’s CPI figure, which was in line with the forecast, came on the heels of Tuesday’s unsettling PPI report.

“We’re starting to see signs that headline inflation—and what’s been driving headline inflation on the upside (i.e. transportation costs and food costs) are starting to bleed into other areas of the economy,” Greiner said. “We’re starting to see some serious contagion with energy and commodity price inflation into other segments in the economy. Now I don’t think it’s gotten to a point where we’ll see wage-price spiral inflation. [However,]…if we’re starting to see labor costs move up dramatically in relation to productivity gains then I think we have a much more serious problem on our hands than we do today.”

Automated voice response systems maker Intervoice Inc. (Nasdaq:INTV) is up more than 21% in pre-market today after the company announced it will be bought by Convergys Corp. (NYSE:CVG) for $335 million in cash. Convergys said it would pay $8.25 per share for Dallas-based Intervoice. The deal should raise Convergys earnings beginning in 2009, the companies said. The deal will help Convergys, a customer and human resources management firm, offer a larger number of automated and live agent services, Convergys said.

In today’s pre-market trading, Intervoice is at $8.10, up $1.43 from Tuesday’s close. During the past 52 weeks, shares of the company have ranged from $5.10 to $11.03.