Tag - Omex

Small-cap stocks started out the week on the same bearish trajectory that was in play late last week, and some of the same themes were blamed for this morning’s ugly start, including worries over corporate profits, the deepening recession and delays on various government stimulus programs. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX), B/E Aerospace (Nasdaq:BEAV) and Century Aluminum (Nasdaq:CENX).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Energy stocks were a soft spot for the market this morning, pressured by another decline in crude oil prices, off about $1.25/barrel.  
• The ISM Manufacturing Survey came in at 35.6, which was a little better than the projection of 33, but still historically low.
• Small-cap stocks started out the week on the same bearish trajectory that was in play late last week.
• For the year, personal income was up 3.7%, which marked the smallest rise since 2003. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. was up almost 28% amid news that the firm has found the HMS Victory shipwreck. See (Nasdaq:OMEX).  
• B/E Aerospace full-year 2008 and Q4 financial results; shares rise 5% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:BEAV).
• Century Aluminum rises 1.4% in pre-market on very light volume. See (Nasdaq:CENX).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Todd Shipyards Corp. fell 17% on a little early volume spike. See (NYSE:TOD).
• ADC Telecommunications Inc. was down 13% as the firm updated the outlook and announced job cuts. See (Nasdaq:ACDT).  
• DryShips down another 13% in pre-market today, extending a major slide that began Thursday morning. See (Nasdaq:DRYS). 

Small-cap stocks started out the week on the same bearish trajectory that was in play late last week, and some of the same themes were blamed for this morning’s ugly start, including worries over corporate profits, the deepening recession and delays on various government stimulus programs. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 3.47, or 0.78%, at 440.05.

The ISM Manufacturing Survey came in at 35.6, which was a little better than the projection of 33, but still historically low. The stock market appeared to bounce mildly off the morning lows after the report came out.

Earlier this morning ahead of the opening, the personal income report showed a slight upside surprise in the headline income figure, which came in at minus 0.2%, just above the projection for a decline of 0.3%. However, the spending figure fell 1.0% after being down 0.8%, which shows consumers are retrenching their spending habits to brace for the recession.

Some of today’s early pullback was likely fueled by declines in overseas markets, with Europe off about 2% into the U.S. open, while Asian stocks fell 1.8%. Japan was down 1.5%, while Hong Kong was down 3.1%, Singapore off 2.3%, South Korea down 1.5% and India off 3.7%.

In Europe, bank and financial stocks were in retreat mode following credit agency downgrades for massive bank Barclays. Here in the United States, worries about the housing and credit crises continue to plague bank stocks, which were off . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) futures are higher and the small-cap index will likely open with a rise despite news of a steep jobs decline.

Payrolls decreased a more-than-expected 80,000 in March, the U.S. Labor Department reported before the opening. The unemployment rate jumped to 5.1% from 4.8% in February. The data confirm fears of a slowing economy.

Today is all about the monthly Employment Report release. Interestingly, the market has had several bullish short-term employment days in recent months, but those moves lacked staying power in the overall bear market run.

Small-cap stocks on Thursday basically put in a repeat performance of the previous session, but the Russell 2000 did manage to tack on a mild gain of 1.31, or 0.18%, closing at 713.57. Key resistance Friday comes in at 724, then at 731, while support is down at 705, 700 and 685.

Shares of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX) are getting a pop this morning after the deep-ocean shipwreck exploration company said after Thursday’s close that Spain’s government withdrew its claim against the company’s recovery of 17 tons of silver and gold coins from the “Black Swan” site in May 2007.

“Technically, Spain's dismissal of its claim…shows that just because Spain files a claim against a particular wreck site does not mean it has a valid basis, or as in this case, any evidence whatsoever to support that claim,” Odyssey’s General Counsel, Melinda MacConnel, said in a press release.

Shares gained 7.4%, or $0.40, to $5.83 in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Odyssey Marine Exploration, click OMEX.      

China Techfaith Wireless Comm. Tech. Ltd. (Nasdaq: CNTF), Sequenom, Inc. (Nasdaq: SQNM) and Alto Palermo S.A. (Nasdaq: APSA) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers:

It's smooth sailing for shares Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMEX) following news that a ship belonging to the Tampa, Fla.-based deep water recovery company has been cleared for departure by Spanish authorities.

“We were confident that an inspection by the Guardia Civil would not reveal any evidence of alleged activities in the area as we have always acted legally,” co-founder Greg Stemm said in a statement after the start of trading. “We are pleased to have the ship released so we can put it back to work on other shipwreck projects.”