Tag - Scsc

Small-cap shares hovered near steady levels in a relatively calm start to the week, as the market appeared to be waiting for more dramatic news to stir volatility into the mix. For now, investors appear to be juggling concerns about record crude oil prices and top-heavy signals on charts against positive money flow into equities. At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 1.14, or 0.15%, at 740.04. Small-caps were slightly soft early on compared with large-cap index products, which is a minor cautionary signal.

The Leading Indicators report came in up 0.1% for April, which was slightly better than the forecast, and up from a decline in both March and February. The data had very little immediate impact on trading, as the report is a compilation of “dated” information on the economy.

Crude oil pushed to a fresh record high this morning, and remains a troubling element for the market and the economy in general as consumers are forced to use discretionary money to pay for gasoline at the pump. In Chicago, pump prices have now climbed above $4 dollars a gallon, a prickly price zone right in front of the peak summer driving and holiday season in the United States.

The relatively tame start to the U.S. trading session mirrored overseas markets, which were narrowly mixed. Europe shares were hovering near steady levels into the U.S. open, while Asia stocks posted slight gains and losses depending on the country . . .

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in Friday’s pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $50 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:PGNX), up 23.7% after the Tarrytown, N.Y.-based company’s constipation drug won FDA approval.

• Pure Bioscience (Nasdaq:PURE), up 18.6% on no significant news from the El Cajun, Calif.-based bio-science firm.

• YRC Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq:YRCW), up 12.7% after the transportation services company said early Friday that it expects second-quarter profit in-line with Wall Street expectations.

Biggest percentage losers:

• SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:SIRF), down 14.1% after posting a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss.

• ScanSource, Inc. (Nasdaq:SCSC), down 12.5% after reporting that it expects fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $540 million to $560 million. Wall Street anticipates $562.7 million.

• UCBH Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:UCBH), down 11.5% after reporting a 92% plunge in first-quarter income.