Tag - Udr

The Obama reign got off to a rocky start today – at least as far as the market was concerned – with small-caps generating the largest one-day slide of the New Year, the worst inauguration day decline ever and the worst overall decline in some two months as bank stocks continued to reel and the profit picture retained storm clouds.  Some of today’s small-cap gainers were UDR (NYSE:UDR), GTx (Nasdaq:GTXI) and TiVo  (Nasdaq:TIVO).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Crude oil rose some 6% into the expiration of the February futures contract, but energy stocks were down about 5% in sympathy with the decline in overall equities.  
• U.S. Investors are now worried that banks simply will not survive without in essence being “nationalized” at the expense of shareholders.  
• Royal Bank of Scotland posts the largest annual loss of any corporation in U.K. history.  
• Small-caps generating the largest one-day slide of the New Year, the worst inauguration day decline ever and the worst overall decline in some two months as bank stocks continued to reel and the profit picture retained storm clouds.  

Small Cap Gainers:

• UDR Inc, GTx Inc, and TiVo Inc open as lead gainers on Tuesday's session.  See:(NYSE:UDR), See: (Nasdaq:GTXI), See: (Nasdaq:TIVO).

Small Cap Losers:

• Natus Medical Inc. fell 25% as the maker of baby care products revised their outlook downward. See: (Nasdaq:BABY).  
• Aspen BioPharma Inc. tumbles 82% amid disappointment over a trial for a drug tied to appendicitis and abdominal pain. See: (Nasdaq:APPY).  
• VSE Corp. slumped 45% on the news that the Army rejected a new contract bid from the firm. See: (Nasdaq:VSEC).

Selling interest in small-cap stocks picked up momentum in mid-session, stoked by investor concerns that President Obama’s inauguration speech did not provide details of his fiscal stimulus plans. Those concerns simply added to a market already bludgeoned by steep declines in the banking sector. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were UDR (NYSE:UDR), GTx (Nasdaq:GTXI) and TiVo (Nasdaq:TIVO).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Energy shares were lower so far today, but the selling fury trailed that in other sectors as crude oil prices bounced some 3% as cold weather draped a large portion of the Northern and Eastern U.S. and on signs that OPEC is serious about production cutbacks.  
• The only S&P sector groups on the rise were gold, insurance stocks and tobacco companies.  
• The biggest losses were seen for asset management firms, regional banks, diversified financial services companies, diversified banks and real estate services firms.

Small Cap Gainers:

• UDR Inc, GTx Inc, and TiVo Inc open as lead gainers on Tuesday's session.  See:(NYSE:UDR), See: (Nasdaq:GTXI), See: (Nasdaq:TIVO)

Small Cap Losers:

• VSE Corp. lowers 43% on news that the Army rejected a new contract bid from the firm. See: (Nasdaq:VSEC)  
• Small-cap company AspenBio Pharma Inc,which gapped lower and collapsed some 84% on unusually heavy volume as investors did not embrace news of preliminary results on the firm’s pain drug test. See: (Nasdaq:APPY)  
• Money management firm State Street Corp. was tumbles around 48% on huge volume after reporting disappointing results. See:(NYSE:STT)  
• The KBW Banking Index takes a beating, falling some 13% at midday as steep losses were posted for many of the nation’s most prominent banks. 

Small-cap stocks pushed lower on the opening, pulled down by a familiar worry of late –sinking bank and financial shares. Additional selling was fueled by losses in overseas markets as the U.S. catches up with the world following Monday’s holiday. It should be noted that action today could be spotty and uneven with the nation’s attention on the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were UDR (NYSE:UDR), GTx (Nasdaq:GTXI) and TiVo  (Nasdaq:TIVO).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Additional selling was fueled by losses in overseas markets as the U.S. catches up with the world following Monday’s holiday.
• During the U.S. holiday Monday, the Royal Bank of Scotland said they would report an annual loss of some $41 billion dollars for 2008, which would stand as the biggest loss ever in UK corporate history.  
• The greenback was up about 1% versus the euro; in early commodities trade, cotton and cocoa were taking a big hit.  
• Crude oil prices were lower overnight, but relatively flat into the stock market open.  
• The key early this week will be whether or not the market can hold up against 453 support. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• UDR Inc, GTx Inc, and TiVo Inc open as lead gainers on Tuesday's session.  See:(NYSE:UDR), See:( Nasdaq:GTXI), See: (Nasdaq:TIVO)

Small Cap Losers:

• State Street Corp. an institutional money manager tumbles 52% on Tuesday's opening. See:(NYSE:STT) 
• Citigroup Inc. down 5%. See: (NYSE:C)  
• Wells Fargo & Co. falls 11% on opening. See: (NYSE:WFC)
• Bank of America Corp. was off some 16% right after the opening. See: (NYSE:BAC)

Small-cap stocks pushed lower on the opening, pulled down by a familiar worry of late –sinking bank and financial shares. Additional selling was fueled by losses in overseas markets as the U.S. catches up with the world following Monday’s holiday. It should be noted that action today could be spotty and uneven with the nation’s attention on the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. At 9:47 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 12.62, or 2.71% at 453.83. Historically, the odds favor a losing day for stocks as the market slips about 70% of the time on inauguration day.

The banking arena has been back in the spotlight – in a very harsh light – for the past couple of weeks and remains a worry spot for the market following dreadful profit news from European banks and early declines for U.S. banks this morning.

During the U.S. holiday Monday, the Royal Bank of Scotland said they would report an annual loss of some $41 billion dollars for 2008, which would stand as the biggest loss ever in UK corporate history. The woes for UK bank stocks sent the sterling currency to 7-year lows against the dollar.

Looking at big U.S. banks, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) was off some 16% right after the open, while Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) was down 11%. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was down 5%, while JP Morgan Chase and Co. (NYSE:JPM) was down 9%. State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT) an institutional money manager, reported terrible results and tumbled 52% on the open.

Crude oil prices were lower overnight, but relatively flat into the stock market open. That said, a strong tone in the U.S. dollar could weigh on commodity prices today and therefore on commodity-themed stocks. The greenback was up about 1% versus the euro; in early commodities trade, cotton and cocoa were taking a big hit.

Taking a peek on options activity from Friday’s January options expirations, Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy with WJB Capital Group said that unusual activity was seen for small-cap firms UDR Inc. (NYSE:UDR), GTx Inc. (Nasdaq:GTXI) and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq:TIVO), so it could be interesting to keep tabs on those firms for a couple of weeks to see if they have any news developments.

The chart structure for small-caps remains in an elongated sideways consolidation mode. The rollover last week off logical resistance might have been troubling for short-term traders, but was consistent with the dominant sideways theme. The key early this week will be whether or not the market can hold up against 453 support. If so, then there is a modest chart bias to resume the upward path to retest last week’s failed resistance lines. However, a breach of 453 opens the door to an abrupt slide back to 442-439. Below there, the market really doesn’t have a safety net until 416.