Tag - Key

Opening volume was higher in this morning's session with all the major indices, except the Dow, trading in the negative. As of press time at 10:40 A.M. Eastern the Dow is trading just positive at 8,768.67 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down 0.10% and 0.04%, respectively.

Leading small cap gainers today was Real Goods Solar (Nasdaq:RSOL) up 42% on news of a $30 million contract to install a solar power program for the Freemont Union School District in California. RSOL is a commercial solar energy integrator in the California and Colorado markets.

Other gainers in this morning's session include Cadiz (Nasdaq:CDZI) up 40%; American Woodmark (Nasdaq:AMWD) up 18.9% on posting a surprise Q4 profit; and Chinese solar firm Renesola (NYSE:SOL) up 16.9%.

Small cap decliners include United PanAm Financial (Nasdaq:UPFC) down $1.02 to $2.96 for a loss of 26.1% after a notice of delisting from the Nasdaq; Hawkins (Nasdaq:HWKN) down 14.1%; Exide Technologies (Nasdaq:XIDE) down 16.2%.

No sooner do I say that the news cycle is turning negative, we get some significant upgrades in the financial sector. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) got an "outperform" rating and rose 5.2%.

RBC Capital Markets called KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) a "top pick" and the shares ramped 20%. And Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq:FITB) rose 7% after it reported that it has filled the capital shortfall identified during the Treasury's "stress tests."

At least for a day, the financials re-took their leadership for the markets. Though it should be noted that the Financials ETF (AMEX:XLF) has not made a new high, and the financials are sharing the stage with energy stocks.

*****Money managers report that a lot of cash is sitting in the sidelines. Both individual and institutional investors have been slow to get back into the stock market.

Of course, that's exactly the scenario that can keep stocks moving higher. At least, so long as the economic data doesn't take a turn for the worse.

*****Citigroup reported in a research note that put options volume is picking up and so is the Volatility Index, the VIX. Investors buy put options to profit form downside moves for stock prices. Institutional investors protect gains in large portfolios with put options.

The VIX measures the cost of put options. When it rises, it means that investors see increasing risk in the stock market. Citigroup's chief technical analyst, Tom Fitzpatrick, believes the rise in the VIX is showing "strong warning signals" for the rally.

*****Bulls vs. Bears, fear vs. greed - that's what it always comes down to. Will the analysts who see better times ahead for the banks win out? Or will those who see "warning signs" be right? As always, we'll see…

*****The gains just keep coming for SmallCapInvestor PRO stocks. Since March, we've seen a 152% gain from our top oil stock, and we had Genco Shipping (NYSE:GNK) hit triple-digit territory before recent weakness took it below that threshold. 

Now, one of our top China stocks is knocking on the triple-digit door.  The obvious catalyst for this stock will is that it moves off the over-the-counter market and starts trading on the Nasdaq as soon as today. I expect the increased exposure to help drive the share prices higher. 

This stock blew through our conservative $8 price target. The new listing and rising prices for its product will have a positive influence on shares. Our target price is being raised to $14 per share. That's about 40% higher from current prices. 

I am very bullish on Chinese stocks. And SmallCapInvestor PRO now has 3 Chinese stocks in the portfolio. In fact, we just added one on Wednesday. I've put all three stocks in a brand new Special Report called "Going for Growth: 3 Top Chinese Stocks to Buy NOW." Find out how to get your copy HERE.

Specialty chemicals company Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP) is feeding off of the commodities boom.

The company markets carbon compounds and commercial wood treatment products to customers in the aluminum, railroad, specialty chemical, utility, rubber and steel industries. Just as several of these industries have been hitting their stride in recent quarters, so has Koppers.

At a market cap of $1 billion, the Pittsburgh-based company is coming off a strong first-quarter in which it experienced double-digit sales growth and set itself up for a strong second-half of 2008. Longtime shareholders in the company have reaped the benefits of the company’s consistent performance.

Koppers had its initial public offering in February 2006 and has seen its stock price more than double over the course of the past two years. This success has been driven by a diverse portfolio of products that are supplied to a global customer base.

The company runs two principal business segments: carbon materials and chemicals, and railroad and utility products. In 2007, the carbon materials and chemicals business accounted for approximately two-thirds of Koppers’ net sales while the railroad and utility products segment made up the remaining third.

The carbon materials and chemicals business segment allows Koppers to serve as one of the world’s largest distillers of coal tar, which is processed into an assortment of products that serve as key inputs in the production of aluminum and the pressure treatment of wood. The railroad and utility segment focuses its efforts around functioning as one of the largest suppliers of railroad crossties in North America.

Small-cap stocks grinded out a higher session Wednesday, overcoming an upward reversal in crude oil and a cavalcade of losses in the financial sector as investors embraced a surprisingly stout durable goods report as a sign that the economic pastures were starting to green up ahead. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) gained 4.07, or 0.55%, to 738.46.

At first blush, the most dynamic news events today would appear to be a big hurdle for small caps to overcome. An overnight smile over another slide in crude oil prices turned into a midday frown as the market for “black gold” reversed course and charged back above $131 dollars barrel. With pump prices now north of $4 dollars a gallon in many parts of the United States, the lofty energy market threatens to pinch off discretionary consumer funds and crimp any economic recovery.

What’s more, the banking sector took it in the chin today, pulled down by mounting loan losses, capital raising efforts and analyst downgrades on investment banks. Marquee financial stocks under pressure today included American International Group (NYSE:AIG), which tumbled about 4%, KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY), which shed about 11% and Lehman Bros. (NYSE:LEH), which dropped about 1%. Regional banks were plowed under by the credit crunch issue, with Fifth Third Bancorp. (Nasdaq:FITB) off some 3.5% and Comerica Inc. (NYSE:CMA) down more than 4% as well. When looking at a rundown of the big percentage losers today, the list was littered with various banks, large and small alike.

The biggest sector losers accompanying regional banks included multi-line insurance firms, specialized finance stocks, diversified banks and brewers. On the upside, buyers were attracted to fertilizer shares, apparel companies, steel stocks, forest products and casinos.

Among individual small caps, Daktronics Inc. (Nasdaq:DAKT) gapped higher this morning and gained some 14% on unusually brisk volume, spurred on by positive earnings news. Also, Gevity HR (Nasdaq:GVHR) rallied about 12%, with the . . .