Tag - Ntrs

Small-cap stocks took flight today, notching the biggest one-day gain of 2009, just one day after sinking to the worst performance of the New Year. The topsy-turvy world of equity market investing set aside the gloom from Tuesday’s slide amid strong earnings from technology bellwether IBM, and money flow benefited stocks as Treasury markets tumbled. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) soared 23.12, or 5.33%, to 456.76; for the year, small caps are still down 8.5%, on target for the worst January showing in more than 15 years. Meanwhile, the Dow is down 6.2% for the year and the S&P 500 is off 7%.

The fact that small caps led the way on the rally today is a positive sign amid plenty of gloom for the marketplace. Investors will have to become more comfortable embracing risk for the market to truly rally off these bear market lows, and putting their faith in small caps would be an interesting development — but as you can see by the yearly return, that leap of faith hasn’t been made yet.

The market was oversold on short-term momentum studies entering the session after suffering the worst inauguration day collapse in history. An upbeat profit reading from International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) set the stage for a bounce back rally today, but the market still needs to extend the move to suggest that the inauguration day slide was the anomaly and not today’s recovery.

The market has been buffeted with poor profit reports for months and a . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher on the opening, bolstered by an oversold bounce after Tuesday’s jolting losses. Additional upside momentum was tied to solid earnings from tech bellwether IBM. The market will now dissect various earnings numbers today and look for details on the Obama stimulus plan for trading direction. At 9:54 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 6.56, or 1.51%, at 440.21.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) topped the forecast when reporting earnings after the close Tuesday, rose some 4% in extended trading and was up about 7% shortly after the open today, providing some bullish leadership for a market that was reeling Tuesday.

Bank stocks have been hammered mercilessly in recent days and paced the declines again during Tuesday’s rout. And even though banks remain in a difficult position and traders are fretting about the risk of nationalizing some major banks, there was a bright spot this morning with Northern Trust Corp. (Nasdaq:NTRS) beating the forecast. NTRS was up some 21% early.

There will be plenty of earnings fodder to chew on today, with Apple Inc., Ebay, Abbott Labs, UAL Corp., and United Technologies on the results docket at some point. Looking at airlines, that group was soft in overseas action. UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA) reported results ahead of the opening today, with a big loss (but not as bad as the Street had feared), and an erosion on fuel hedges hurting results. UAUA was up almost 3% shortly after the open.

President Obama is slated to meet with his economic leadership team today to begin the difficult task of vetting out the right policy to spark a recovery. His pick to lead the Treasury Department, Timothy Geithner, still faces tough questions from Senate leaders on tax issues before his confirmation. Most believe that Geithner will eventually be confirmed – perhaps as soon as this week. Paul Volcker is expected to introduce Geithner to the Senate confirmation hearing, which will put some weight behind the proceedings. Geithner today said that the financial bailout program . . .

U.S. stocks are expected to open higher, bolstered by oversold conditions and an upbeat earnings report from IBM, which should help the market look past declines in overseas markets overnight. The Dow is expected to open about 80 points higher, while the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was seen opening up about 0.5% near 436.

In overseas trading, steelmaker, banking and airline stocks were among the worst performing groups. The decline in bank stocks was fueled by worries that some major European banks might have to be nationalized for them to survive, and part of the slide was also “catch up” selling in the wake of jarring declines in U.S. trading on Tuesday’s session, which saw the largest inauguration day decline in the market in history.

Wireless network stocks were on the rise overnight, which could spill over into the U.S. session early today. In addition, tech bellwether International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) topped the earnings forecast and rallied 4% in extended trading after the close Tuesday. Other profit reports weren’t so rosy, however, taking some enthusiasm away from the IBM news.

Bank stocks here in the U.S. should be higher on the open, lifted primarily by oversold conditions following days of relentless selling pressure. Northern Trust Corp. (Nasdaq:NTRS) topped the forecast and up some 9% in pre-market activity, providing a rare patch of good news for the banking group.

Crude oil prices were up about $0.50 a barrel heading toward the stock market opening, which could underpin energy and commodity shares. Crude oil prices rose sharply Tuesday into the expiration of the February futures contract, but the move wasn’t enough . . .