Tag - Dri

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Friday, gaining a boost from merger activity in the banking sector, a jump in restaurant shares and a lift from news of a rescue plan for automakers. All of those factors help offset sloppy action in commodities, and worries about retailer sales into a key shopping weekend. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 7.09, or 1.48%, at 486.26 and is now down 37% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow is off 35% for 2088 and the S&P 500 is down 40%.

Small caps were noticeably strong relative to large caps, fueled by M&A activity in the banking area. “I think that the M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE:MTB) purchase of Provident Bankshares Corp. (Nasdaq:PBKS) has caused investors to see value in small-cap banks and the purchase came at a nice premium,” Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research with MF Global, said in an email interview. PBKS shares jumped 60% on the news.

Kalivas also said that positive profit news from restaurant operator Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI) provided a lift to the restaurant sector, which was reflected through impressive positive breadth in small-cap eateries. Small-cap restaurants on the move today included Cheesecake Factory Inc. (Nasdaq:CAKE) which jumped 12%; Brinker International Inc. (NYSE:EAT) up 29% as the firm completed a sale of the Macaroni Grill; The Steak n Shake Co. (NYSE:SNS), up 12%; and Papa Johns International Inc. (Nasdaq:PZZA) up 8%.

In addition, Kalivas said that the general atmosphere of cheaper gasoline and a mini-wave of refinancing activity provides a supportive element to the small-cap universe.

As for today’s quadruple witching expirations of stock index futures, options and single stock futures, Kalivas said that “pinning” action (which refers to . . .

Small-cap stocks opened lower and remained under pressure all day Friday, unable to shake off concerns about surging energy prices. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) shed 8.91, or 1.22%, to 724.10. For the week, small caps tumbled 17.07, the second-largest one-week point decline since the market bottomed early in early March.

Equities investors truly became fixated this week on the crude oil market, and with good reason. Earlier this week, crude oil futures charged past $135 dollars a barrel, and pump prices in some U.S. metropolitan areas pushed beyond $4 dollars a gallon, a sobering psychological benchmark in front of the summer holiday and driving season. Crude oil gained about 1% in value Friday, which kept equity bulls in hibernation.

Not only does the relentless rise in energy prices blunt consumer spending power, but it also raises input costs for many businesses and tightens margins. The airline industry is the current poster child for that vicious cycle, and many airline stocks were hammered again this week. The AMEX Airline Index closed out the week at new lows, and is trading just above $18, compared with a peak in January 2007 above $66. A powerful glimpse of that slide can be seen in small-cap stock US Airways (NYSE:LCC), which tumbled 18% Friday and is now a $4.25 stock, down from $16 in February, and a peak of almost $63 just a couple of years ago.

This morning’s existing home sales report appeared to serve up some needed good news when the headline figure came in at 4.89 million units sold, which topped the median forecast for a rise of 4.85 million units. However, the rosy headline figure came with hidden thorns, as the inventory of homes for sale swelled to record levels. “The stark inventory situation implies that additional price declines cannot be ruled . . .