Tag - Tex

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 2.47, or 0.55%, at 450.42. Small caps are now down 9.8% for the year, while the Dow is off 9.6% and the S&P 500 is down 7.5%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were DuPont Fabros (NYSE:DFT), Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq:BWLD) and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (Nasdaq:PFCB).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Equity markets in Europe and Asia were lower overnight, with financial and consumer product stocks on the slide, which plays into the soft initial tone.
• The retail sales report headline figure came in at plus 1%, which was well ahead of the projection for a slide of 0.7%.
• The weekly unemployment claims report showed that 623,000 workers filed for benefits last week, which was above the projection of 610,000.
• The number of people forced to file for continuing claims marked a record high; the 4-week moving average for claims was at a 26-year peak.
• Retail shares also were struggling today, despite the bullish print on headline monthly retail sales data. The S&P Retail Index was down 1.8%.
• Small-cap stocks edged higher Thursday, a nice reversal from this morning when the market appeared to be in freefall mode.
• Energy markets had a little bit of a divergence today between equities and cash, with crude oil prices closing down 5.4%, losing $1.96 a barrel to $33.98.
• Copper prices tanked in the morning, but also found some buying interest as the stock market righted the ship.

Small Cap Gainers:

• DuPont Fabros popped 37% after reporting Q4 and full-year 2008 results, and enteting into a loan agreement. See (NYSE:DFT).
• Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. gapped higher and shot up some 34% as the . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) has trimmed some of its earlier gains but is still comfortably in positive territory. At 1: 31 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had climbed 2.94 points, or 0.42%, to 707.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 122.75 points, or 0.97%, to 12,729.05.

Trading got off to a good start on news that International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the largest information technology company in the world, reported better-than-expected preliminary quarterly results.

The Armonk, New York-based company said that it expects earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended Dec. 31 to be $2.80 per share, above Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $2.60 per share.

The better-than-expected result is partially attributed to the weak U.S. dollar, which makes IBM’s overseas profit seem larger.

One greenback is currently worth 0.6722 euros, the currency used by 15 countries in the 27-member European Union. The dollar began the day at a level just above 0.675 euros.

The U.S. dollar has been losing ground for months. In March 2007, it was at a level of around 0.75 euros.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures have risen sharply and the small-cap index will likely open higher.

With no major economic releases scheduled for today, investors are focused on news from the corporate sector.

Bullish news came out of IT giant International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), which reported better-than-expected preliminary quarterly results this morning. The Armonk, New York-based company said that it expects earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended Dec. 31 to be $2.80 per share, above Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $2.60 per share.

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• A.S.V., Inc. (ASVI), up 44% on news it is being purchased by Terex Corp. (TEX) for about $488 million.
• DRDGOLD Ltd. (DROOY), up 14%.
• Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN), up 10%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• AspenBio Pharma, Inc. (APPY), down 5%.
• Netscout Systems, Inc. (NTCT), down 3%.
• Steven Madden, Ltd. (SHOO), down 1%.

Shares of A.S.V., Inc. (Nasdaq: ASVI) are rocketing in pre-market after the manufacturer of rubber track loaders, undercarriages and traction products said it is being acquired by Terex Corp. (NYSE: TEX).

The transaction is valued at approximately $488 million, or $18 per fully diluted share, of ASV common stock.

Terex expects the transaction to close by the end of the first quarter of 2008.

Shares of A.S.V. (ASVI) rocketed 44.1%, or $5.42, to $17.71 in pre-market. Shares of A.S.V. have been trading in the range of $10.11 to $19.45 for the past 52 weeks.