Tag - Mcy

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 2.76, or 0.59%, at 467.94, and is now off 6.3% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow is down 5.8% for 2009, while the S&P 500 is down 3.7%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq:HBAN), Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq:FITB) and Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• There was some thought that the market needed a “breather” session after Friday’s gains that flew in the face of a bad employment report.
• Bank stocks continued to perform solidly today, even though a delay in the announcement of the bank bail out plan was deemed necessary.
• Commodities were a bright spot for the market but faded late with the Commodity Research Bureau index slipping into negative territory.
• Crude oil futures closed down 1.5%, or $0.61 a barrel, at $39.56, slipping back below the $40 level after trading above $42 in the morning.
• There was some thought that investors were starting to fret about the stimulus plan vote, which was expected at some point today.
• Volume was relatively thin much of the day for stocks as traders were preoccupied watching for news out of Washington.
• The chart structure for small caps sports an inside session pullback today on light volume, which carries very little downside “oomph” for the market.
• Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is slated to have a press conference . . .

Small-cap stocks edged slightly lower Monday, unable to build on the big rally from Friday as the market encountered headwinds on retailer, homebuilder and consumer product stocks that overcame positive movement on bank and financial shares. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 2.76, or 0.59%, at 467.94, and is now off 6.3% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow is down 5.8% for 2009, while the S&P 500 is down 3.7%.

Bank stocks continued to perform solidly today, even though a delay in the announcement of the bank bail out plan was deemed necessary by the Obama Administration in order to focus attention on the fiscal stimulus debate. Energy shares were an important upside force for stocks much of the day, slipped hard in conjunction with the weak close in crude oil, but then staged a bounce back into the close. For the day, energy shares gained 0.3%.

Commodities were a bright spot for the market through much of the day, but faded late with the Commodity Research Bureau index slipping into negative territory by the close, led by the reversal in crude oil and a slide in copper, which pulled back after hitting two-month highs in New York trading.

Crude oil futures closed down 1.5%, or $0.61 a barrel, at $39.56, slipping back below the $40 level after trading above $42 in the morning. Concerns about demand and the global economic slowdown eventually caught up with talk that OPEC leaders were considering further production cutbacks.

There was also some thought that investors were starting to fret about the stimulus plan vote, which was expected at some point today. Stumping for the plan on a trip to Indiana, President Obama said, “I am calling on Congress to pass this bill immediately. Endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will bring only deepening disaster.”

Even when the market was trying to rally earlier in the day, there were warning signs that the move lacked staying power. For one thing, small caps were noticeably lagging strength in large-cap indices; and for another thing, market breadth in the form of gainers versus losers and new highs versus new lows favored the bearish . . .