Tag - Ish

Small-cap stocks remained sharply lower into mid-session trading, pulled down by sinking bank and financial stocks, which cascaded into other groups. A fresh batch of economic data this morning was weak as expected, but relatively tame and did little to lessen ongoing worries about the credit crunch and a deep recession.Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSE:JAV), Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:PPHM) and West Marine, Inc. (Nasdaq:WMAR).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Copper pulled into negative territory on the economy jitters and a strong dollar keeping many physical markets on the defensive.  
• Crude oil futures tumbled below $35 a barrel to fresh contract lows today amid worries about global demand.  
• Energy shares were also starting to sink heading into the afternoon, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund off 2.7%.  
• The KBW Banking Index was down 8.5% at midday and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund was off 6.6%. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. rallied 21% on a volume spike amid news that the firm signed a $71 million deal for a European marketing partnership. See (NYSE:JAV).  
• Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. climbed 7% to six-month highs on a volume burst. See (Nasdaq:PPHM).  
• West Marine, Inc. raises FY 2008 earnings outlook; shares up 7%. See (Nasdaq:WMAR).
• Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. is seeing its best volume in more than a month, rising about 1.7% in the process. See (Nasdaq:RMCF).

Small Cap Losers:

• Liberty Shipping withdraws offer for International Shipholding Corporation; ISH shares fall 25%. See (NYSE:ISH).  
• Marshall & Ilsley is down 23% after falling to a Q4 loss of $403.9M, cutting 850 jobs. See (NYSE:MI).
• Cynsosure Inc. gapped lower and fell 13% as the maker of medical treatment systems for aesthetic procedures released preliminary results. See (Nasdaq:CYNO).   
• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. is down 12% and has been sinking fast the last several sessions. See (Nasdaq:RRGB).

Small-cap stocks resumed the downdraft Wednesday morning, pulled down by lingering worries about the health of the financial system and a bleak report on the U.S. housing market. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 12.51, or 1.76%, at 698.14.

Housing starts in August tumbled to a rate of 895,000 units, which was well below the forecast of 950,000 and represented the weakest level in more than 17 years. Single-family home sales were off 1.9% to 630,000 units, also the lowest level since 1991, and even permits for new homes were at 17-year lows. The market was already in retreat mode ahead of the data, but certainly didn’t find any ray of sunshine in the latest look at the housing market.

Even before this morning’s housing report came out, the market was in a selling mood, as investors fretted about the never-ending credit crunch and where the next ax would fall. The government bailout of American International Group (NYSE:AIG) might have been a welcome sign fueling Tuesday’s recovery bounce, but the news seemed to have a fairly short bullish shelf life. Arguments on the bearish side of things center around the fact that if the government had to produce the bailout then it wasn’t that attractive of a safety move and also on to concerns that regulators clearly won’t be able step in to and rescue every firm that is listing toward default amid a mountain of bad debt write downs and other failed investment strategies.

Investors were once again nervous about taking on equity risk and money was clearly flowing back into credit instruments. The interest rate on benchmark 10-year notes tumbled 0.64% and bond yields were off 1.40% as money moved into . . .

Small-cap stocks turned lower Tuesday, rejecting an impressive morning rally as financial and tech stocks failed to gain traction even with the benefit of a sharp pullback in crude oil prices. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 0.99, or 0.13%, at 738.51. For the year, the Russell is down 3.5%, which is quite a shift from the morning rally when the Russell looked poised to post one of the highest daily settlements of the year. The selling pot was stirred among large caps too, with the Dow slipping 0.2% on the day; the Dow is now down 13.1% for the year. In addition, the S&P 500 lost 0.4% Tuesday and is off 13% for 2008.

The dramatic reversal in fortune for stocks today left a mild bearish reversal formation on daily charts as the Russell closed lower after threatening to challenge move highs in the morning. In addition, when a market sinks in the face of seemingly bullish news, it is often considered a classic signal that something else is wrong. In this case, the market seems to be saying that a little relief at the gas pump isn’t enough to fix what ails the economy or the credit crisis.

It’s interesting to note too that the erosion in stocks seemed to coincide with a surge in Treasury markets. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note tumbled nearly 2% to the lowest closing level since late April. Yields move inversely to price, which means that demand for Treasury products (a traditional safe-haven) was strong today. Some of that push for a safety net seemed to move in tandem with the Fitch downgrade of paper debt for mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE). If there were concerns in the market about the government-sponsored enterprises, they didn’t really show up in the stock, as shares in FNM rose 8%, while FRE jumped 14%.

The day dawned brightly for equities as investors embraced a huge slide in crude oil prices. Even though the stock market turned lower in the afternoon, crude oil prices still lost about 5% on the day, sinking $5.75 a barrel to $109.71. The stiff decline in energy prices was accompanied by a big rally in the U.S. dollar, and a whole host of commodity markets succumbed to the pressure — all of which would seem . . .

After kicking off September with a bang, small caps remain in positive territory midday, as oil futures plummeted after Hurricane Gustav proved less destructive than previously thought.

At 12:10 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 3.92, or 0.53%, at 743.42, but off its highs.

Crude oil prices took a nose dive today after Hurricane Gustav’s arrival over the weekend spared key energy production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Midday, a barrel of light sweet crude has deflated $6.38 to roughly $109. Crude prices were down as much as $10 before the market opening. Oil’s sell off was welcome news for the market, as that potentially points to lower gas prices and eases consumers’ allotment for expenditures on energy. Additionally, the summer, which is marked as a high traveling season, has come to a close, marking the beginning of a period for weaker seasonal demand.

As crude sold off, the dollar surged higher. Midday, the greenback has breached new highs at $1.4526. Aside from crude, more signs of a weakening global economy also pushed the dollar higher. The central bank of Australia slashed interest rates by 25 basis points in an effort to aid a worsening economy. In England, the head of the UK Treasury, Alistair Darling, commented that the country’s economic conditions are the worst in 60 years, while the OECD noted that Britain is the closest to recession in Europe.

Shares of International Shipholding Corp. (NYSE:ISH) rose 13.3% this morning
in the wake of a buyout offer from Liberty Shipping Group LLC for $25.75 a share in cash.

Lake Success, N.Y.-based vessel operator Liberty issued a statement at 8:30 a.m. ET outlining the details of a letter it had sent to International Shipping's board of directors, outlining its acquisition proposal.
 
Liberty’s all-cash proposal represents a 27% premium over International Shipholding's closing price of $20.25 on Aug. 29, the last trading day prior to public disclosure of Liberty’s proposal.

Liberty CEO Philip J. Shapiro said he believes that combining the two companies "would create a stronger and more competitive entity that is better positioned for future growth."
Mobile, Ala.-based International Shipholding is at $22.94 this morning, up $2.69 from Friday's close, after trading as high as $24.31 earlier in the day. The stock has ranged between $16.14 and $26.73 during the past 52 weeks.

For detailed price information and news stories on International Shippling, click ISH.

Sciele Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq:SCRX), International Shipholding Corp. (Nasdaq:ISH) and West Marine Inc. (Nasdaq:WMAR) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Union Drilling Inc. (Nasdaq:UDRL), UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA), PacWest Bancorp (Nasdaq:PACW), Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (Nasdaq:CTB), DineEquity Inc. (Nasdaq:DIN) and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BAGL).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps: