Tag - Fcce

Optimism for a $25 billion aid package for embattled U.S. carmakers may have played a supportive role in the rally action today, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closing up nearly 6%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Future Canada China Environment (OBB:FCCE), Newstar Financial (Nasdaq:NEWS) and Standard Register (NYSE:SR).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Commodity markets stabilized Tuesday morning, which was a big relief after crude oil collapsed 9% Monday.
• Optimism for a $25 billion aid package for embattled U.S. carmakers may have played a supportive role in the action today.
• Financial stocks were among the top performers today, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund up 5%. 
• Homebuilder shares were surprisingly stout, with the ISE Homebuilder Index climbing 7.5%. 
• Drug stocks, banks, airlines and insurance companies also were strong performers today.
• Crude oil prices fell $2.32 a barrel, or 4.7% to $46.96. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Future Canada China Environment Inc. (OBB:FCCE) jumped 50%, but the move took place on very light volume; this unknown entity has suddenly stormed to $15 a share after debuting in mid-October as a nickel stock.
• NewStar Financial (Nasdaq:NEWS) closed up 24% as small financial firms dominated gainers on Tuesday.
• Standard Register (NYSE:SR) jumped 28% as the document services . . .

Small-cap stocks staged a solid recovery rally Tuesday, recovering a hefty slice of the historic collapse from Monday’s freefall but remaining in the shadow of that epic decline. Strength today stemmed from short-term oversold conditions, hope for a rescue bail-out of automakers as well as bargain hunting in financial and homebuilder shares. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 24.75, or 5.93%, at 441.82. The Russell is now down 42% for 2008, while the Dow is off 37% and the S&P 500 is down 42%.

Optimism for a $25 billion aid package for embattled U.S. carmakers may have played a supportive role in the action today, but stock in General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) came tumbling down from a steep morning rally after word got out that November vehicle sales collapsed 41.3% versus the same month last year. Executives from the Big 3 automakers submitted plans to Congress for the bail-out proposal. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) was the first to release their plan, which called for a $9 billion loan, no executive bonuses, a reduction in dealers and new plans for electric cars. Into the close, GM shares were up slightly, while Ford was up about 4%.

Financial stocks were among the top performers today, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund up 5%, including another sizable rise in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), which was up 9%. Smaller banks and financial firms dominated the best percentage movers as well.

Homebuilder shares were surprisingly stout, with the ISE Homebuilder Index climbing 7.5%. Within the small-cap universe, KB Home (NYSE:KBH) jumped 9.5%, Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) rallied 14.1% and Centex Corp. (NYSE:CTX) rose 11.5%. Perhaps the group was simply oversold, and perhaps some of the move was tied to hopes that further rate cuts and the government’s new push on lowering longer-dated debt rates would revive the sagging housing industry. On Monday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke intimated that the Fed could purchase long-term products and that sentiment was echoed today by Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser, who said that the Fed certainly can buy Treasury products and . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher on the opening but slipped briefly into negative territory as optimism over a new government plan to open credit facilities for mortgage assets and “consumer” loan assets was countered by soft economic reports. The credit news helped the market strive to look past a predictably weak GDP report and a report that said home price declines posted a record decline from year-ago levels. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Life Time Fitness Inc. (NYSE:LTM), Futures Canada China Environment Inc. (Nasdaq:FCCE) and Nuance Communications (Nasdaq:NUAN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Crude oil prices were off about $2 a barrel shortly after the stock market opening, absorbing a mild pullback off the big 9% surge Monday.  
• Treasury yields were taking a big downside hit even while the stock market was pointing toward a strongly higher open.  
• 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.  
• The Fed and Treasury announced a new TAL, which will be granted initial funding of $20B via the original $700B in TARP money. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Life Time Fitness Inc. rose 33%, gapping higher after plunging to 52-week lows Monday. See (NYSE:LTM).  
• Futures Canada China Environment Inc. jumped 33% on extremely light volume (only 1,000 shares). See (Nasdaq:FCCE).  
• Nuance Communications Q4 earnings beats Street view, shares up 12%. See (Nasdaq:NUAN).  
• Brinker International climbs over 10% after analyst upgrade company to "strong buy" froM "market perform." See (NYSE:EAT).

Small Cap Losers:

• Zale Corp. was down 25% as the jeweler reported a larger-than-expected loss. See (NYSE:ZLC). 
• SkillSoft dips 13% after guiding below fourth-quarter estimates. See (Nasdaq:SKIL).  
• Penson Worldwide down 9% on light volume in pre-market, following news it will expand its senior managment team. See (Nasdaq:PNSN).  
• United Natural Foods down 2% in pre-market after reporting a drop in Q1 profit. See (Nasdaq:UNFI).

Small-cap stocks pushed higher on the opening but slipped briefly into negative territory as optimism over a new government plan to open credit facilities for mortgage assets and “consumer” loan assets was countered by soft economic reports. The credit news helped the market strive to look past a predictably weak GDP report and a report that said home price declines posted a record decline from year-ago levels. At 10:07 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 1.14, or 0.26%, at 437.94.

The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department announced a new TALF (Troubled Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility), which will be granted initial funding of $20 billion via the original $700 billion in TARP money (i.e., taxpayers). This facility is expected to provide funding for asset-backed securities such as auto loans, student loans and credit card debt.

The GDP report came in at minus 0.5%, which hit the forecast on the nose and meant the number might be awful, but was in line with market expectations. The scary part is that economists are unanimously saying that things will get worse before they get better. “Economic growth dipped in Q3, the result of a sharp drop in consumer spending on top of a weak housing market. Because both have deteriorated even more quickly so far in Q4, GDP will shrink much more rapidly in the current quarter. Our current estimate is minus 4.5%,” Steven Wood, chief economist with Insight Economics, said in an email.

The Case-Shiller Home Price Index tumbled a record 17.4% from last year and the composite index of 20 metropolitan areas was down 1.9% in September from the previous month. “The turmoil in the financial markets is placing further downward pressure on a housing market already weakened by its own fundamentals,” David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, said.

The consumer confidence report came in better than expected at 44.9, . . .