Tag - Kv.a

Small-cap stocks turned lower into mid-session trading, unable to sustain a mild morning rise as ongoing worries about the economy came back to the forefront following dreadful data on home sales. As expected, homebuilders were among the hardest hit stocks so far today, with retailers, banks and auto manufacturers also acting as a drag on the market. At 12:49 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 7.79, or 1.64%, at 467.28.

Existing home sales, which account for the overwhelming majority of activity, plunged 8.6% to an annual rate of 4.49 million units, far below the projection of 4.93 million units. What’s more, the price on homes tumbled 13.2%, the biggest percentage decline in 40 years. The ISE Homebuilders Index tumbled 3%, outpacing the overall market slide by a wide margin. Among small-cap homebuilders, Centex Corp. (NYSE:CTX) was off 4.1%; KB Home (NYSE:KBH) was down 3%; and Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) was down 4%.

The worst performers so far today have been the automakers, with General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) down 15% and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) off 16% following news that their credit ratings were slashed. The PHLX Retail Index was down 1% at midday, while the S&P Retail Index was off about 0.5%. Big department stores were among the worst sector groups today, with Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) sinking 5.5%.

The ongoing fretting about the economy pulled down crude oil prices, which slipped below $39 a barrel, off about 3.7% at midday. Energy shares weren’t as weak as the cash market, but were still down about 0.9%, with oil and gas drillers among the weaker performers.

Financial shares were holding up reasonably well, but banks were a noticeable source of strain in the financial arena. The KBW Banking Index was off . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) had an up and down session Tuesday, but in the end the bulls won the skirmish. Small caps closed up 1.46%, while the Dow and S&P 500 lagged gains. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB), DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) and Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Tuesday morning’s report on U.S. GDP came in as expected, clearing the way for the market to start on a positive note. The report confirms that the economy is on pace for an “official” recession moniker if fourth-quarter growth contracts as expected. 
• The Fed and Treasury announced a new TAL, which will be granted initial funding of $20B via the original $700B in TARP money. 
• 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.
• Retailers were in rally mode Monday, but were struggling to stay positive, just a few days in front of Black Friday.
• Tech stocks were a drag on the market, as the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 underperformed the rest of the market and shed 1% on the day.
• Crude oil took a dive today, tumbling $3.7 a barrel, or about 6.8%
• Despite the retreat on physical energy prices, energy stocks still managed to push higher today, and actually outpaced the broad market indices.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB) closed up 47% today, rebounding from major losses the stock saw on Monday.
• DR Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) jumped 38%, riding the overall housing updraft today despite reporting larger-than-expected quarterly losses.
• Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) soared some 32% as the second-largest U.S. homebuilder benefited from an analyst upgrade.
• Developers Diversified Realty (NYSE:DDR) reported insider buying; shares . . .

Small-cap stocks turned lower at midday as slumping technology shares weighed on investor psychology and offset optimism over yet another new government credit facility aimed to encourage consumer loan activity. In addition, fresh economic data had a predominantly gloomy tone and the market may have been ripe for a breather following two days of dramatic advances. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN), DR Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) and American Woodmark (Nasdaq:AMWD).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Retailers were in rally mode Monday, but were struggling to stay positive today, just a few days in front of Black Friday  
• The worst performers so far are home: ent. software, specialty stores, asset management firms, distillers and vineyards, and dept. stores.  
• Consumer confidence levels actually improved more than expected, rising to 49.9, up from the forecast of 38.5 (but still low historically).  
• Homebuilders are the best performers, followed by construction materials, managed health care, building products and Internet software.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Lennar Corp. soared some 52% as the second-largest U.S. homebuilder benefited from an analyst upgrade. See (NYSE:LEN).  
• DR Horton Inc. jumped 25%, riding the overall housing updraft today despite reporting larger-than-expected quarterly losses. See (NYSE:DHI).
• American Woodmark up 18% after posting narrower-than-expected Q2 loss. See (Nasdaq:AMWD).
• Media and marketing company Alloy, Inc. up over 15% today on light volume, paring much of the losses it suffered on Monday See (Nasdaq:ALOY).  

Small Cap Losers:

• K-V Pharmaceuticals drops 24% after a bevy of law firms launch investigations into the small cap concerning losses suffered by investors who purchased stock between Feb. 15 and Nov. 12. See (NYSE:KV.A).  
• FirstFed Financial Corp. down 21% today on no fresh news. Over the weekend the savings and loan holding company declared a dividend. See (NYSE:FED).
• BankAtlantic Corp. down another 20% today following news on Friday that the SEC launched a probe into the company's handling of troubled loans and some of its officers' stock transactions. See (NYSE:BBX).  
• Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. tumbled 19% as investors backed away from the beauty retailer ahead of an earnings conference call this afternoon. See (Nasdaq:ULTA).  

WellCare Health Plans Inc. (Nasdaq:WCG), KV Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq:KV.A) and Oriental Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:OFG) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Fundtech Ltd. (Nasdaq:FNDT), Retalix Ltd. (Nasdaq:RTLX), Life Time Fitness Inc. (Nasdaq:LTM), RHI Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq:RHIE), SI Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SIFI) and Primoris Services Corp. (Nasdaq:PRIM).

Heritage Crystal Clean Inc (Nasdaq:HCCI), Apex Silver Mines Ltd (Nasdaq:SIL) and Banro Corp (Nasdaq:BAA) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Bancorp Bank (Nasdaq:TBBK), BNC Bancorp (Nasdaq:BNCN), Aircastle Ltd (Nasdaq:AYR), TomoTherapy Inc (Nasdaq:TOMO), KV Pharmaceutical Co (Nasdaq:KV.A) and ExlService Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:EXLS).

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

San Jose-based Agile Software Corp. (Nasdaq: AGIL), which makes product life-cycle management software, is being purchased by giant Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) for $495 million in cash, according to news reports this morning.  The deal is expected to be finalized in July.  Shares are down $0.18, or 2%, to $7.08.

Shares of Horsham, Pa.-based Astea International Inc. (Nasdaq: ATEA) are trading lower despite news after Tuesday’s close that the service management solutions company reported a net profit for the first quarter of 2007 of $1.3 million, or $0.36 per share, compared with a net loss of $2.3 million, or $0.64 per share, for the same period in 2006.