Tag - Rrr

Last week, the Russell 2000 Index rose 1.6 percent, while the Standard & Poor's Small Cap 600 Index gained slightly less, 1.5 percent.

For the day, the Russell 2000 was flat and the S&P Small Cap 600 was down fractionally. Yet for the year, the Russell has gained 8.1 percent, with the S&P Small Cap rising 8.9 percent.

World Heart Corp. (Nasdaq:WHRT), Accuray Inc. (Nasdaq:ARAY) and TechTarget Inc. (Nasdaq:TTGT) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: AAR Corp. (Nasdaq:AIR), RSC Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:RRR), Winn Dixie Stores Inc. (Nasdaq:WINN), Kadant Inc. (Nasdaq:KAI), Exterran Partners L P (Nasdaq:EXLP) and Encore Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:EBTX).

GTSI Corp. (Nasdaq:GTSI), FBL Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:FFG) and Myers Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:MYE) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Dendreon Corp. (Nasdaq:DNDN), Take Two Interactive Software Inc. (Nasdaq:TTWO), Central Pacific Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CPF), A Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:APWR), RSC Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:RRR) and Main Street Capital Corp. (Nasdaq:MAIN).

Small-cap stocks threw a gasket in teh final hour of trading Friday, giving back a lion's share of Thursday's stunning rally off new bear market lows while finishing with the lowest weekly close since August 2003. Today's biggest small-cap gainers are . . .

Small-cap stocks threw a gasket in the final hour of trading Friday, giving back a lion’s share of Thursday’s stunning rally off new bear market lows while finishing with the lowest weekly close since August 2003. Slumping tech stocks, dreadful retail sales and a risk-averse mentality took a toll on a market that is starting to get a penchant for wicked afternoon volatility. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 34.71, or 7.07% at 456.52 and is now down 40% for 2008, while the Dow is off 36% for the year and the S&P 500 is down 41%.

Small caps entered the day on a mildly weak note, unable to graft higher on modest gains in Europe and Asia and seemingly not able to revive the manic bargain-hunter push from Thursday afternoon. A big part of the problem is that no matter how hard investors try to write off ugly economic data, at some point the blows wear down psychology, kind of like a fighter who’s been absorbing body shots for several rounds.

The latest stinger on the data front was this morning’s retail sales report, which posted the largest October decline on record (the series only dates back to 1992). The slide was 2.8%, well below the forecast for a decline of 1.5%, but perhaps a little closer to the “worst case” scenarios that were floating about. It doesn’t help matters that consumer spending appears to be falling off a cliff into the holiday season and a fresh batch of earnings reports from retail firms simply added to the spending worries.

The S&P Retail Index tumbled about 7% today as a recurring theme played out for stores that we all frequent from time to time – everything from apparel to home improvement to electronics – they all basically warned that forward projections were at risk as the U.S. economy lurches through the recession. Speaking of recession, eurozone economists beat the official U.S. designators to the punch by . . .

The following were the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

U.S. stocks are little changed this morning following news of a smaller-than-expected rise in durable goods orders in March.

At 9:57 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 0.25 points, or 0.03 percent, to 836.79.  Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 27.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,552.87.

Orders for durable goods increased 0.6% in April, the Commerce Department reported before the opening bell.  That’s below economists’ median estimate of a rise of 1%.  The figures for March were revised upward to 5% from a previously reported increase of 3.7%. 

In other economic news, the number of American worker applying for jobless benefits increased last week.  Jobless claims rose 15,000 to a seasonally-adjusted level of 311,000 during the week ended May 19, the Labor Department said before market open.  Economists were expecting an increase of 17,000.

The following are the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million: