Tag - Sws

Cytec Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:CYT), K-Fed Bancorp. (Nasdaq:KFED) and Colony Bankcorp Inc. (Nasdaq:CBAN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: SWS Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SWS), Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:CY), Patriot Transportation Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:PATR), TeleCommunication Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:TSYS), Dollar Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:DLLR) and Hexcel Corp. (Nasdaq:HXL).

SWS Group Inc. (NYSE:SWS) saw its shares rise by 7.5% this morning on news that it has hired a new head of corporate finance for subsidiary, Southwest Securities Inc.

Dallas-based SWS, a financial services holding firm, announced Monday afternoon that it tapped Jeffrey Singer as its new executive vice president and head of corporate finance.

The firm believes Singer will be able to boost its investment banking presence in the Southwest region.

By mid-morning, SWS Group is at $21.92, up $1.52 from Monday’s close. The stock has ranged between $10.13 and $22.50 in the past year.

For detailed price information and news stories on SWS Group, click SWS.

Camco Financial Corp (Nasdaq:CAFI), Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc (Nasdaq:MFLX) and Ceragon Networks Ltd (Nasdaq:CRNT) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Mediacom Communications Corp (Nasdaq:MCCC), SWS Group (Nasdaq:SWS) and Perficient Inc (NYSE:PRFT) are also among the biggest percentage gainers.

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is firmly in the red after briefly moving into positive territory. At 2:29 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 3.07 points, or 0.44%, to 699.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was down 49.90 points, or 0.40%, to 12,372.96.

Small-cap stocks are again declining after spending about 30 minutes above the flat line shortly before 1 p.m. ET.

The catalyst appears to be news that Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, has made remarks suggesting that the U.S. economy is slipping into recession.

“It’s clear the economy is in a slowdown that resembles past periods that were the leading edge of a recession,” Lockhart told the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Tenn. “Following a sluggish fourth quarter, I expect that GDP for the first quarter of this year will show little, if any, growth.”

Before the start of trading the U.S. Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product increased at the previously announced annual pace of 0.6% in the last three months of 2007, matching economists’ projections. That’s significantly lower than the 4.9% growth recorded in the third quarter of 2007.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed with a remarkable gain following news that the U.S. Federal Reserve has lowered its target interest rate. The small-cap index rose 31.45 points, or 4.83%, to 681.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) advanced 420.41 points, or 3.51%, to 12,392.66.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has retreated 10.98%, while the Dow is down 6.57% and the S&P 500 has let go 9.37%.

Small-cap stocks soared higher than their larger counterparts and added to their earlier gains on news after the start of trading that the U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to lower its target interest rate 0.75% to 2.25%.

“Recent information indicates that the outlook for economic activity has weakened further,” the Fed said in a statement. “Growth in consumer spending has slowed and labor markets have softened.”

The market had priced a full 1% of the federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, but policymakers expressed concern about inflation.