Tag - Dhi

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) had an up and down session Tuesday, but in the end the bulls won the skirmish. Small caps closed up 1.46%, while the Dow and S&P 500 lagged gains. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB), DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) and Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Tuesday morning’s report on U.S. GDP came in as expected, clearing the way for the market to start on a positive note. The report confirms that the economy is on pace for an “official” recession moniker if fourth-quarter growth contracts as expected. 
• The Fed and Treasury announced a new TAL, which will be granted initial funding of $20B via the original $700B in TARP money. 
• The Case-Shiller Home Price Index tumbled a record 17.4% from last year and the index was down 1.9% in September from the previous month.
• Retailers were in rally mode Monday, but were struggling to stay positive, just a few days in front of Black Friday.
• Tech stocks were a drag on the market, as the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 underperformed the rest of the market and shed 1% on the day.
• Crude oil took a dive today, tumbling $3.7 a barrel, or about 6.8%
• Despite the retreat on physical energy prices, energy stocks still managed to push higher today, and actually outpaced the broad market indices.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB) closed up 47% today, rebounding from major losses the stock saw on Monday.
• DR Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) jumped 38%, riding the overall housing updraft today despite reporting larger-than-expected quarterly losses.
• Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) soared some 32% as the second-largest U.S. homebuilder benefited from an analyst upgrade.
• Developers Diversified Realty (NYSE:DDR) reported insider buying; shares . . .

Small-cap stocks turned lower at midday as slumping technology shares weighed on investor psychology and offset optimism over yet another new government credit facility aimed to encourage consumer loan activity. In addition, fresh economic data had a predominantly gloomy tone and the market may have been ripe for a breather following two days of dramatic advances. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN), DR Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) and American Woodmark (Nasdaq:AMWD).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Retailers were in rally mode Monday, but were struggling to stay positive today, just a few days in front of Black Friday  
• The worst performers so far are home: ent. software, specialty stores, asset management firms, distillers and vineyards, and dept. stores.  
• Consumer confidence levels actually improved more than expected, rising to 49.9, up from the forecast of 38.5 (but still low historically).  
• Homebuilders are the best performers, followed by construction materials, managed health care, building products and Internet software.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Lennar Corp. soared some 52% as the second-largest U.S. homebuilder benefited from an analyst upgrade. See (NYSE:LEN).  
• DR Horton Inc. jumped 25%, riding the overall housing updraft today despite reporting larger-than-expected quarterly losses. See (NYSE:DHI).
• American Woodmark up 18% after posting narrower-than-expected Q2 loss. See (Nasdaq:AMWD).
• Media and marketing company Alloy, Inc. up over 15% today on light volume, paring much of the losses it suffered on Monday See (Nasdaq:ALOY).  

Small Cap Losers:

• K-V Pharmaceuticals drops 24% after a bevy of law firms launch investigations into the small cap concerning losses suffered by investors who purchased stock between Feb. 15 and Nov. 12. See (NYSE:KV.A).  
• FirstFed Financial Corp. down 21% today on no fresh news. Over the weekend the savings and loan holding company declared a dividend. See (NYSE:FED).
• BankAtlantic Corp. down another 20% today following news on Friday that the SEC launched a probe into the company's handling of troubled loans and some of its officers' stock transactions. See (NYSE:BBX).  
• Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. tumbled 19% as investors backed away from the beauty retailer ahead of an earnings conference call this afternoon. See (Nasdaq:ULTA).  

Small-cap stocks turned lower at midday as slumping technology shares weighed on investor psychology and offset optimism over yet another new government credit facility aimed to encourage consumer loan activity. In addition, fresh economic data had a predominantly gloomy tone and the market may have been ripe for a breather following two days of dramatic advances. At 12:51 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 6.29, or 1.44%, at 430.50.

Yields on Treasury products were sharply lower this morning, which suggests investors are still risk averse, even after a two-day rally that rivaled anything seen since the bounce off the 1987 stock market crash. The yield on benchmark 10-year notes was off some 5.1%.

Looking at sector activity so far today, homebuilders were the best performers, followed by motorcycle manufacturers, industrial REITS, construction materials, managed health care, building products and Internet software services. The firm tone in various housing-related stocks was interesting given fresh economic data this morning showing that housing prices staged a record decline last month from previous year levels.

In other data news today, the GDP report came in as advertised, with a retreat of 0.5%, which puts the economy on the verge of an “official” recession, even though many market watchers argue the economy has already been mired in a recession for months on end. Interestingly, consumer confidence levels actually improved quite a bit more than expected, rising to 49.9, up from the forecast of 38.5 (but still low historically).

When the government isn’t outright giving taxpayer funds to big banks, they are continuing to build credit facilities to try and encourage lending activity and the latest products today included one for consumer asset-backed items (like autos, . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Wednesday, recapturing a little more than one-third of Tuesday’s massive decline as technology stocks and commodity shares were back in favor with investors and distressed financial issues stabilized. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 9.87, or 1.40%, at 717.16 and is now down 6.3% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow was up 0.34% Wednesday, but still is off 15% for 2008, while the S&P 500 was up 0.61% on the day, but remains down 16% for the year.

One could argue that stocks were oversold after suffering the largest one-day rout of the year Tuesday, and while that likely played a role in the bounce today, there were also favorable stories to help fuel the move. It seemed like a majority of the earnings reports were either a non-event or slightly upbeat, and decent results from Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN) appeared to project an immediate positive tone into the tech arena, which had been struggling of late. TXN gained about 1% on the day, and other tech stocks such as Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq:RIMM), the makers of Blackberry, climbed 6%.

Homebuilders, which were absolutely hammered Tuesday, mounted a recovery bounce today, with the ISE Homebuilders Index rising 3%. DR Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) was up about 4% and Pulte Homes (NYSE:PHM) was up some 5%.

Energy shares were higher, even though crude oil prices slipped to fresh five-month lows. In fact, several commodity sectors provided a boost to the stock market, with coal, metals, steel, oil exploration, gas utilities and integrated oil and gas stocks among the best performing sectors. Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) rose 3% and was one of the top lifts on large-cap indices and that strength spilled over into small-cap energy names as well. It was interesting to see that even though commodity stocks were a bullish element today for equities, the overall Commodity Research Bureau Index was actually down about 0.7%. Part of that slide in physical markets was likely tied to a strong tone in the U.S. dollar, which crimps demand for commodities priced in dollar terms. The greenback charged to fresh 11-month highs against the . . .

Small-cap stocks extended the upward march much of the day Wednesday, lifted by tame consumer price inflation data this morning, which eased some concerns that the Federal Reserve’s tightening gun was coming out of the holster sooner than expected. However, the rally sputtered in the final hour of trading, and the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 0.79, or 0.11%, at 736.07. On the face of things, it might not seem like a big deal to only lose 0.11%, but a lower close when making new five-month highs serves up a potential topping pattern on charts that raises a caution flag heading into action Thursday and Friday.

After yesterday’s glut of Fed speakers inundated the market, many traders came away with the interpretation that Federal Reserve policy makers were turning hawkish, preparing to fight inflation. However, this morning’s CPI reading was seen as a sign that inflation remains at bay — at least for now — which should buy the market some time before rate hikes become plausible. The CPI headline number came in at 0.2%, just below the 0.3% forecast, while the “core” reading, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.1%, also below the 0.2% projection.

While gains in large caps were fairly broad-based Wednesday from a sector perspective, homebuilder and retailer stocks appeared to be especially giddy about the prospect of delaying rate hikes down the road. The S&P Retail Index jumped about 1.6% on the day, with Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) rising about 4%. Among homebuilders, DR Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) was up over 2% and Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is leading the bulls’ stampede, up more than 2%, while the Dow (INDU) is on record territory. At 2:20 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 19.01 points, or 2.36%%, to 824.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 195.82 points, or 1.41%, to 14,091.45, above its close of 14,000.41 on July 19.

The bulls are dominating trading this afternoon as investors speculate that the worst is over for the subprime mortgage sector.

Homebuilders, which have been hit particularly hard by the ongoing slump in the U.S. housing sector, got a breath of fresh air today when Citi Investment Research advised buying shares of Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI), Pulte Homes, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), Centex Corp. (NYSE: CTX) and The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE: RYL).

Citi Investment Research, the research arm of financial services giant Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), said that shares of the builders may be poised for a rally.

Also seeing its fortunes rise is micro-cap company Tarragon Corp. (Nasdaq: TARR), following news before the opening that Fannie Mae will reinstate $79.6 million in loans to the New York-based homebuilder and real estate developer.