Tag - Tg

Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:HA), Danvers Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:DNBK) and United Financial Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:UBNK) are among the new 52-week highs in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Bank of Marin Bancorp (Nasdaq:BMRC), Standex International Corp. (Nasdaq:SXI), Tremisis Energy Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq:TGY), Suffolk Bankcorp (Nasdaq:SUBK), Tredegar Corp. (Nasdaq:TG) and Iberiabank Corp. (Nasdaq:IBKC).

Here are the new 52-week highs among small caps:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices have fallen deep into negative territory as economic concerns take center stage. At 2:46 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 9.55 points, or 1.35%, to 695.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had lost 27.56 points, or 0.22%, to 12,561.51.

The U.S. economy will experience a recession this year and the Federal Reserve will respond with aggressive rate cuts, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS). The New York-based investment bank wrote in a note to its clients that it expects gross domestic product to contract in the second and third quarters, prompting the Fed to lower the federal funds rate to 2.5%.

The federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, was lowered on Dec. 11 to 4.25% from 4.50%. On Jan. 29, the Fed begins a two-day meeting, with most economists currently expecting that it will not move to cut interest rates before then.

However, William Poole, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, does not see a recession.

“Will housing sector problems push the economy into recession?” Poole asked the Financial Planning Association of Missouri and Southern Illinois in a speech earlier today. “It is too early to tell right now.”

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are moving up and down with no clear direction.
 
At 10:27 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 1.88 points, or 0.27%, to 702.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 37.23 points, or 0.30%, to 12,626.30.

With little news on the economic front, stocks are looking for meaning and direction in today’s trading.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported before the start of trading that mortgage loan application volume for the week ended Jan. 4 increased 32.2%. But the statistics are misleading, because the preceding included the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The four-week moving average, a more stable measure, is down 4.1% to a reading of 624.4 from 650.8.

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

Biggest percentage gainers:

• BabyUniverse, Inc. (KIDS), up 17%.
• Tredegar Corp. (TG), up 13%.
• ICF International, Inc. (ICFI), up 12% on news of an analyst upgrade.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Spectrum Control, Inc. (SPEC), down 36% an analyst has reduced the stock’s target price.
• Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (PRXI), down 22% on news it expects fiscal 2008 earnings to be below expectations.
• West Coast Bancorp (WCBO), down 13% on news it will suffer a pre-tax provision for credit losses of $30 million.