Tag - Sndk

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) eked out a green close today, but still lagged the Dow and S&P 500. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were InterMune (Nasdaq:ITMN), John B. Sanfilippo & Son (Nasdaq:JBSS) and Central European Distribution Corp. (Nasdaq:CEDC).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The pending home sales report rose 6.3%, better than expected (the forecast was flat) and helped spark a recovery bounce in equities.
• Homebuilder stocks seemed to get a lift from the pending home sales number, with the ISE Homebuilder Index rising 5.2%.
• Motorcycle manufacturers were a top performer today, but the large automakers were in retreat mode as they release sales numbers today.
• Personal products companies, steel stocks, coal firms and general merchandise stores were all doing well today.
• Poor performers were regional banks, diverse financial services firms, consumer finance companies, diversified banks, casinos and REITs.
• For the year, the Russell is down 9.3%, while the Dow is off 7.9% and the S&P 500 is down 7.1%.
• Energy shares outpaced the overall market rise today, helped along by a modest 1.7% advance in crude oil futures, which gained $0.70 a barrel to $40.78.
• Crude prices were underpinned by talk of additional production cuts out of OPEC and some worries about possible refinery worker strikes. 
• On Wed. the market will get an early glimpse at private jobs numbers, . . .

Small-cap stocks opened higher, but stalled quickly as bargain hunters were on the buy side trying to balance a mixed bag of corporate profit reports, worries about the stimulus package progress and valuation levels on the indices that have are seen as attractive in many corners. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Sonesta International Hotels Corp.  (Nasdaq:SNSTA), John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. (Nasdaq:JBSS) and Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE:TDG).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Treasury markets clearly extended morning declines after the pending home sales report, which suggests money flow out of debt markets and potentially into stocks.  
• The pending home sales report rose 6.3%, better than expected (the forecast was flat) and helped spark a recovery bounce in equities.  
• Crude oil prices were higher in choppy trade ahead of the open; energy markets appear to be on steady footing coming into today’s session.  
• Pending home sales data comes out at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• Carmakers will release sales figures today, which could move stocks not just for automakers, but also for the general market.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Sonesta International Hotels Corp. jumped 30%, but volume on the move was limited. See (Nasdaq:SNSTA).  
• John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. rose 26% as the nut snack maker got an earnings-related lift. See (Nasdaq:JBSS).  
• Transdigm Group Inc. rallied nearly 13% as the aircraft component designer was another firm reporting solid results. See (NYSE:TDG).  
• OSI Pharmaceuticals rises over 11% in pre-market after the company and Genentech say its drug’s benefits ended their lung cancer trial early. See (Nasdaq:OSIP).

Small Cap Losers:

• The Pantry Inc. fell 13% as the convenience chain store operator was on the negative side of the earnings response. See (Nasdaq:PTRY).  
• SanDisk sharply lower in pre-market following quarterly results. See (Nasdaq:SNDK).  
• Human Genome Sciences begins delivery of first-in-class Anthrax; shares dip slightly in pre-market on light volume. See (Nasdaq:HGSI).

U.S. stocks are expected to open flat as investors wade through a flood of earnings reports and watch for updates out of Washington on the stimulus package. In overseas trading, Europe markets were steady and Asia was mixed after the Bank of Japan promised to pump $11 billion into banks and Australia’s central bank slashed interest rates. The Dow is expected to open steady, while the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is seen slightly higher near the key swingline of 450.00.

Among the bevy of quarterly results already in the mix ahead of the opening, Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) beat the forecast and was higher in pre-market trading; AFLAC Inc. (NYSE:AFL) said they wouldn’t need to raise cash and also trended higher. On the soft side of things, Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE:DOW) missed the forecast and fell some 5% in pre-market action; SanDisk Corp. (Nasdaq:SNDK) missed the sales projection and will issue stock to raise capital, which sparked a slide in the maker of memory cards for digital cameras.

Carmakers will release sales figures today, which could move stocks not just for automakers, but also for the general market. The market is already anticipating some of the worst car sales numbers on record, so the bar is set pretty low as it is. Pending home sales data also comes out at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Crude oil prices were slightly higher in choppy trade ahead of the open; energy . . .

Small-cap stocks fell hard on the opening, pressured by a run of weak guidance projections on recession fears from the flood of quarterly earnings reports and by a steep slide in equity markets around the world overnight. At 9:56 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 10.54, or 1.99%, at 520.27.

Even before we got this jolting steep opening slide this morning, it was a wild overnight ride for stock market futures. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures saw ranges beyond 4% as the market rallied right after Tuesday’s close on solid earnings from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO). The strong results from those firms set in motion a big run in the tech sector and even though those gains were relinquished by today’s opening, tech stocks were still outperforming the broad market, which is a switch from recent trends. AAPL was up about 6% and YHOO some 3% on the open. The Nasdaq 100 was down about 1% shortly after the open.

Another positive story on the earnings front came from McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which topped the forecast and rose at the opening, but is now down 1.49%. From a pessimist viewpoint, the bears will say that “Mickey Dees” is the only restaurant people will be able to afford in a prolonged recession.

Outside of the earnings flood, SanDisk Corp. (Nasdaq:SNDK) tumbled some 25% in after-hours trading after Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. withdrew a $5.9 billion bid for the flash memory card maker. SNDK was down 29% early on.

Earlier this morning, the MBA Mortgage Application Index fell sharply, sinking 16.6% to the lowest point in nearly eight years, which underscores ongoing troubles in the housing market. Mortgage rates upticked into that survey period, which likely hurt the application activity, but with home prices not doing well, secondary mortgage activity remains soft and we already saw single-family home sales collapse to 26-year lows on last week’s economic data. In addition, there are reports that homes . . .

Small-cap stocks edged lower Monday, unable to sustain an intraday run to fresh five-month highs as longs took profits, record crude oil prices deterred new buyers and tech stocks reversed course. In the end, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) dipped 2.72, or 0.37%, to 738.45.

Small-caps trailed buying enthusiasm in large caps much of the day, which was a caution sign that the intraday push was on tenuous footing. When tech stocks started to reverse course, recoiling from new highs, it put a chill on buyers in most of the major index products. Within large-cap tech stocks, the spotlight was on SanDisk Corp. (Nasdaq:SNDK), which tumbled about 7.6% amid concerns about the consumer spending outlook.

Crude oil prices continue to be a focal point for stock market traders as the economy teeters on a tightrope of recovery, balancing higher energy and food costs versus the spending habits of strapped consumers. Crude oil prices jumped to a fresh record high this morning and closed at a new all-time peak above $127 dollars a barrel. Gasoline pump prices around the nation have been spiking higher in recent days, and prices in the Chicago metropolitan area moved past $4 dollars a gallon this weekend, an ominous sign heading toward the peak summer driving and vacation season.

This morning’s leading indicators report may have brought a few stray buyers out of the woods, but that release seldom has a dynamic impact on immediate trading decisions as most of the data is considered dated. For instance, today’s leading indicators report was for the April time frame, and although the headline figure . . .