Tag - Cvvt

Small-cap stocks remained in negative territory into midday trading even as the Dow zigzagged back and forth from lower to higher ground. Energy and commodity stocks were once again the dominant upside force for equities, countered by a weak tone in financial shares following a dour report on the jobs front this morning. At 12:20 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 2.01, or 0.42%, at 474.39.

Investors continue to debate over whether or not all these scary economic reports are already priced into the market, but it was hard to simply shrug off this morning’s weekly unemployment claims report, which showed that more people were filing for jobless benefits last week than we’ve seen in 26 years. Money clearly was flowing away from financial stocks this morning in favor of commodities, driven not only by the economic data, but also by a big decline in the U.S. dollar, which makes commodities priced in dollar terms more attractive and also bolsters exports for U.S.-based firms that ship goods overseas. The greenback was off more than 2% against the euro, sinking to the lowest point since Oct. 21.

The pullback in the buck was an obvious benefit to crude oil prices, which climbed back above $46 a barrel, up nearly $3 today. In addition to the currency support, crude oil prices were lifted by a report from the International Energy Agency predicting a recovery in demand in 2009 and a surprising drop in Saudi output in November. Energy stocks were up some 2.7% at mid-session, while financial shares were off about 2.2%.

The Hennessee Group Hedge Fund Index fell 2.69% in November, which was a big improvement from losses in the 6% range the previous two months, but still a poor performance historically. Hedge funds as a group haven’t made money on a monthly basis since May, which is an extreme drought for a group considered to house the most savvy traders on the planet. In addition, plunging hedge fund losses have sparked a tidal wave of redemptions, adding to the selling fire in stocks the last two months. With another poor performance for the month of November . . .

Small-cap stocks remained in negative territory into midday trading even as the Dow zigzagged back and forth from lower to higher ground. Energy and commodity stocks were once again the dominant upside force for equities, countered by a weak tone in financial shares following a dour report on the jobs front this morning. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are China Valves Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:CVVT), American Italian Pasta (Nasdaq:AIPC) and Legacy Reserves (Nasdaq:LGCY).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Energy stocks were up some 2.7% at mid-session, while financial shares were off about 2.2%.  
• The pullback in the dollar was an obvious benefit to crude oil prices, which climbed back above $46 a barrel, up nearly $3 today.  
• The greenback was off more than 2% against the euro, sinking to the lowest point since Oct. 21.  
• Small-cap stocks remained in negative territory into midday trading even as the Dow zigzagged back and forth from lower to higher ground.

Small Cap Gainers:

• China Valves Technology Inc. is the top percentage gainer so far today, jumped 133% on all of 240 shares traded as the firm said they were setting up a board of directors. See (NYSE:CVVT).  
• American Italian Pasta reports higher 4Q profits; shares pop 28%. See (Nasdaq:AIPC).
• Citi initiates coverage on Legacy Reserves with a "buy," price target $15. Shares are up 20% to $10. See (Nasdaq:LGCY).  
• James River Coal Company up 17%, continuing rise from Tuesday when shares began to climb on an analyst's note. See (Nasdaq:JRCC).  
• Royale Energy up 17% as energy stocks are extending their rally from earlier this week. See (Nasdaq:ROYL).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Caraco Pharmaceuticals Labs, Ltd. rose 48% and has been on a two-day upside rampage without any apparent fresh news behind the run. See (NYSE:CPD).  
• Integral Systems Inc. slumped 25% as the satellite communications firm announced preliminary results. See (Nasdaq:ISYS).  
• QKL Stores Inc. tumbled 61% as the Chinese supermarket chain announced they were adding three new stores. See (Nasdaq:QKLS).  
• Hecla Mining drops 24% after announcing $21 million equity transaction. See (NYSE:HL).  

Small-cap stocks extended the morning free fall, with financial, retail and commodity sectors all taking a beating as investors recoiled from a batch of brutal manufacturing data from around the world and fretted about the true eventual returns from this holiday spending season. Today's small-cap gainers are Premiere Global Services (NYSE:PGI), Emrise Corp. (NYSE:ERI) and VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY).

Today's Market Watch highlights included:

• Retail stocks were down today, with the S&P Retail Index at -5.7% despite early press reports that Black Friday was a success.  
• The Commodity Research Bureau Index of 19 physical markets was down 3.2% at midday.  
• The dollar was firm against the euro, which further played into the collapse in commodity markets.  
• Crude oil prices were down some 8% so far today, with U.S. crude benchmark values slipping through the $50 support line.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Shares of Premiere Global Services are up 30% after Oppenheimer & Co. upgraded the company to "outperform" from "perform." See (NYSE:PGI).  
• Emrise Corp. up 12% after receiving $1 million in new orders for in-flight entertainment products. See (NYSE:ERI).  
• VAALCO Energy up 11% on heavy volume. See (NYSE:EGY).  
• Nektar Therapeutics up about 10% on lower-than-average volume. See (Nasdaq:NKTR).

Small Cap Losers:

• China Valves Technology Inc. collapsed 79% on the China manufacturing woes, but it should be noted that this stock rarely trades much anyhow and was down on less than 1,000 shares trading today. See (Nasdaq:CVVT).  
• Russian steelmakers Mechel, TMK request a total of $3 billion in state loans to refinance their foreign debt. MTL is down 28.5%. See (NYSE:MTL).
• Excel Maritime Carriers dives 27% today following a downgrade last week from Cantor Fitzgerald to "sell" from "hold." See (NYSE:EXM).
• Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. tumbled 23% as the offshore drilling platform specialist was caught in the undertow of the slide in energy values. See (Nasdaq:GIFI).  
• Talbot's falls another 22% today following a widened Q3 net loss, conference call last week. See (NYSE:TLB).  

Small-cap stocks extended the morning free fall, with financial, retail and commodity sectors all taking a beating as investors recoiled from a batch of brutal manufacturing data from around the world and fretted about the true eventual returns from this holiday spending season. At 12:27 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 30.90, or 6.53%, at 442.24.

New manufacturing orders plunged in China, which is the world’s fourth-largest economy and a key source of labor for goods then exported to trading partners throughout the planet. That somber tone on manufacturing was only deepened when the ISM Manufacturing Survey for the United States came out this morning at 36.2, which missed the 38.0 forecast and was the worst reading in 26 years. Just to emphasize the point of how bad things are, the employment sub-index on the ISM report was the worst in 17 years, the new orders sub-index was the worst in 28 years and the priced paid sub-index was the worst in 59 years.

Financial stocks and energy shares were among the hardest hit stock market components through mid-session trading, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund and the Energy SPDR both off about 7%. Looking at individual broad market sectors, there are none above 1% gains right now, and 10 sectors with losses greater than 10%. The biggest declines were seen for industrial REITS, oil equipment, investment banks, coal, specialized finance, oil and gas drillers and consumer finance.

Crude oil prices were down some 8% so far today, with U.S. crude benchmark values slipping through the $50 support line. The dollar was firm against the euro, which further played into the collapse in commodity markets; the Commodity Research Bureau Index of 19 physical markets was down 3.2% at midday.

Retail stocks were also taking a hit today, with the S&P Retail Index down about 5.7% despite early press reports that the Black Friday kickoff of the holiday shopping season saw a rise in sales and traffic. The fact that the market was sinking fast today makes some of those upbeat reports on Black Friday business seem quite suspect, but perhaps investors are simply ramping down expectations for the entire season. Today is known as “Cyber Monday” when consumers supposedly dash to online shopping sites to scoop up bargains in time for the postman to deliver before Christmas, so details on how today’s online shopping is moving along could have an impact on afternoon . . .