Tag - Txrh

Yesterday we saw a nice move in the markets.  Small-caps bounced back after a two-day losing streak and the Russell 2000 rose 8.22 points to 570.62, or 1.5%.  The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 were essentially flat.  This is typical of small-cap stock movement; they tend to lead both to the upside, and to the downside. 

Yesterday's buying in small-caps is a bullish sign: investors are looking to add higher beta stocks to their portfolio when these stocks are down.  The Russell 2000 small-cap index saw 1331 advancing stocks to 621 declining stocks. The buying clearly shows that investors are finding good entry prices for attractively valued small-caps...

Applied Signal Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:APSG), BWAY Holding Co. (Nasdaq:BWY) and ArcSight Inc. (Nasdaq:ARST) are among the new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: ShoreTel Inc. (Nasdaq:SHOR), Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:UVE), Bridgford Foods Corp. (Nasdaq:BRID), Actuate Corp. (Nasdaq:ACTU), Hilltop Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:HTH) and Texas Roadhouse Inc. (Nasdaq:TXRH).

PSS World Medical Inc. (Nasdaq:PSSI), Geron Corp. (Nasdaq:GERN) and Palm Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Texas Roadhouse Inc. (Nasdaq:TXRH), Starent Networks Corp. (Nasdaq:STAR), American Medical Systems Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AMMD), Sequenom Inc. (Nasdaq:SQNM), TBS International Ltd. (Nasdaq:TBSI) and FreightCar America Inc. (Nasdaq:RAIL).

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) gained despite news of government reports and minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve that showed economic problems. The small-cap index added 7.68 points, or 1.09%, to 710.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) advanced 90.04 points, or 0.73%, to 12,427.26.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 7.31%, while the Dow is down 6.31% and the S&P 500 has shed 7.38%.

Small-cap stocks moved up for the second consecutive session but began the day in negative territory following news that the consumer price index added 0.4% in January, above the expected 0.3%.

The U.S. Labor Department also reported that core consumer prices, which exclude the costs of food and energy, increased 0.3%, above the projected 0.2%.

Core prices have added 2.5% on a year-over-year basis, which is beyond the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred range of between 1% and 2%. Worse, annual consumer prices growth has accelerated from 2.4% in December 2007.

The rise in inflation makes it more difficult for the U.S. Federal Reserve to stimulate the economy by cutting its target federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are lower and the small-cap index will open with a decline following the latest economic news.

The consumer price index added 0.4% in January, the U.S. Labor Department reported this morning. That exceeds economists’ forecast and comes as a worrying sigh that inflation is rising while economic growth remains lackluster.

The core inflation index, which excludes the price of food and energy, gained 0.3%. That’s also above what economists were expecting.

The Russell 2000 exhibited an up-and-down, limited-range return to action Tuesday before closing up 0.82 at 702.34. Resistance should be seen at 712, 721 and 730; support is pegged at 694, 688 and 680.

Look for some potentially volatile events today. In the afternoon, the 2:00 p.m. ET FOMC Minutes also could spark some action for stocks.