Small caps build on FOMC rally; large caps stallSmall-cap stocks rejected a morning pullback to close higher on the day, backing up the euphoric FOMC rate cut rally with an impressive showing given early weakness. Tuesday’s FOMC rise was powered by financial and homebuilder stocks, while today’s climb branched out to retailer, selected commodity and telecom names. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 3.75, or 0.78%, at 486.59 and is now down 36% for 2008. Meanwhile, the Dow was down 1.12% on the day, and is down 33% for the year, while the S&P 500 was down 0.96% Wednesday and down 38% for 2008. Action today was noticeably calm after the big rate cut rally Tuesday. Investors were likely pondering just how the Federal Reserve would bolster the economy now that interest rates for short-term loans from the government are basically at zero. One clear path would seem to be buying longer-dated instruments, and Treasury markets were higher throughout the day, although down quite a bit from the morning rise when equities were on thinner ice to start the session. On the retailer front, Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) jumped some 18%, leading the S&P Retail Index to a decent 1.8% gain on the day. Small-cap firms such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) rose 3.9%. Retail sales reports have been spotty through this difficult holiday season, but Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE:BBY) shot higher Tuesday ahead of the FOMC news on a solid earnings report. Selected commodity areas provided support to the stock market today, with metals, mining, gold and steel companies counted among the top performing sectors. Some of the bullish edge may have been taken off commodities however as crude oil prices plunged this afternoon, sinking some 8% to the lowest level in more than four years. The sell-off in crude took place right in the face of an announced production cut by OPEC leaders. Perhaps the sting of OPEC’s proposed cut was limited by the fact that non-members Russia and Mexico did not weigh in to support a pullback in production. Interestingly, even though crude oil prices slumped to four-year lows, . . .
Global-Tech Appliances, Diodes and American Italian Pasta lead small-cap percentage gainers
Global-Tech Appliances Inc. (Nasdaq:GAI), Diodes Inc. (Nasdaq:DIOD) and American Italian Pasta Co. (Nasdaq:AIPC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.
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Also included among the results: Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (Nasdaq:HWD), BroadVision Inc. (Nasdaq:BVSN), Firstbank Corp. (Nasdaq:FBMI), Silver Standard Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:SSRI), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC) and Schiff Nutrition International Inc. (Nasdaq:WNI).
Modest early dip as commodity, tech stocks on weak footing
Small-cap stocks pushed lower, pulled down by erratic profit-taking in thin post-holiday trade following four days of extreme gains. The focus now will shift to reports on retailer sales as the “Black Friday” hordes swarm shops in search of holiday bargains. If the shopping fervor disappoints, there is some concern that Black Friday will turn into “Blue Monday” by the time we get back to normal stock market trading activity next week. A soft tone in commodities and a pullback on chip-maker stocks overseas weighed on small caps and tech stocks this morning. At 10:10 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 6.19, or 1.32%, at 462.67.
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Ahead of U.S. trading today, stocks around the world were mixed, with Europe lower and Asia predominantly higher. Japan’s Nikkei was up 1.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 2.4%. Australia’s all-ords jumped 4.3% and markets in Singapore were up 1.2%. Equities in India were up 0.7% as the market there opened for trading for the first time since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that claimed more than 120 lives and injured hundreds more people. In Europe, energy and mining stocks were down earlier today. Crude oil prices slipped some 3% in London trading but trimmed losses into the U.S. market open. OPEC ministers are gathering in Cairo, which heightened some concern that they could decide to trim production further in an effort to bolster sagging energy prices, but it seems unlikely they would make any decision right now about production changes. Overnight, economic data out of Europe was somber, with unemployment climbing to a 20-month peak and confidence plunging to a 15-year low. The dreary data coming out of Europe matches awful returns we’ve been seeing on the economic front here in . . .
Harry Winston Diamond advances 6% on strong Q2 resultsHarry Winston Diamond Corp. (NYSE:HWD) rose nearly 6% this morning after the Toronto-based diamond retailer reported second-quarter earnings that widely topped analysts’ estimates. After the bell on Tuesday, Harry Winston said it earned $49.9 million, or $0.81 per share, for the three-month period ended July 31 compared with earnings of $20.1 million, or $0.34 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were on average expecting earnings per share of $0.43. The company said its expanded market place has delivered strong pricing for its rough diamond sales despite difficult trading conditions in both the United States and Japanese markets. By late morning, Harry Winston is at $17.17, up $0.95 from Tuesday’s close. Shares have ranged between $16.06 and $44.98 during the past year. For detailed price information and news stories on Harry Winston, click HWD. spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer
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