Tag - Mcbi

Monday started off with a bang as President-elect Obama’s stimulus plans and auto bailout talk helped buoy the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) to a closing above 4%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS), Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE:EXM) and Titan International (NYSE:TWI).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Russell is now down 37% for 2008, while the Dow is off 33% and the S&P 500 is down 38%.
• Obama said he hopes to create more than 2.5M jobs by 2011 while launching the biggest infrastructure project in the U.S. since the 1950s.
• Commodities in general were back on the rally track today after being dismissed for the last few months amid the global slowdown.
• Corn shot up 6%, soybeans were up 4%, sugar and coffee rallied 6%, silver was up 6%, and platinum and palladium were up 7%.
• Crude oil joined in on the commodities surge, climbing 7.1%, or $2.90 a barrel.
• Oil, metal and cement stocks saw dramatic gains in several emerging market locales today.
• Commodities were bolstered by a decline in the U.S. dollar against the euro, with the greenback off more than 230 basis points, or 1.8%.

Small Cap Gainers:

• DryShips Inc. rode the wave of commodity-themed bargain hunting, closing up 51%. See (Nasdaq:DRYS).
• Within the ocean vessel theme, Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. jumped 40% and is another stock that has seen the bottom fall out of their boat since mid-August, but is trying to mount a recovery now. See (NYSE:EXM).
• Titan International Inc. rose 37% as the tire maker for off-road . . .

Cypress Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: CYPB) shares almost doubled in after-hours trading after it and Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) announced positive results on a Phase 3 study for milnacipran in treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome. Cypress Bioscience, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., and Forest Laboratories have only reviewed so far initial top-line results; additional analyses on the results will be completed in the coming weeks. Subject to a favorable review of the full study results and based in part on communication with the FDA, the companies would plan to submit a New Drug Application for milnacipran around the end of 2007. Cypress Bioscience
was quoted at $16.85, up $8.40, or 99.41%.

Minneapolis, Minn.-based Wilsons The Leather Experts Inc. (Nasdaq: WLSN) reported a net loss for the first quarter ended May 5 of $0.54 per share, compared with an average analyst estimate calling for a loss of $0.34. In the same quarter a year ago, Wilsons The Leather Experts lost $0.17 per share. Quarterly revenues, at $57.6 million, were below both year-ago at $74.7 million and expectations for $65.02 million. Shares of Wilsons, a specialty retailer of leather accessories and apparel, was virtually unchanged in after-hours trading at about $1.19.

Giga-tronics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GIGA) was lower in after-hours trading after the company said net sales in the fourth quarter ended March 31 were $5.2 million, down 9% from the same quarter a year ago. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company reported a net loss of $0.10 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $0.02 in the year-ago period. Giga-tronics, which shows no analyst coverage, produces microwave components for defense electronics and wireless telecommunications. Shares were 12% lower in after-hours trading at $1.80.

Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd (NYSE: EXM) reported earnings per share for the first quarter ended March 31 of $0.61, below the average analyst estimate of  $0.64 and up from $0.37 in the first quarter of 2006. The company, headquartered in Athens, Greece, said revenues for the quarter were $36.0 million, beating analysts' expectations for $35 million and up from $29.5 million for the same quarter in 2006. Excel Maritime--an owner of dry bulk carriers and transportation service provider for dry bulk cargoes--also announced it would distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per common share, starting with the first quarter. In after-hours trading, shares were down $0.17, or less than 1%, at $25.29.