Tag - Weys

Ames National Corp. (Nasdaq:ATLO), Chemical Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CHFC) and Weyco Group Inc. (Nasdaq:WEYS) are among the new 52-week highs in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: TowneBank (Nasdaq:TOWN), Osiris Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:OSIR), Home Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:HOMB), Neogen Corp. (Nasdaq:NEOG), Simmons First National Corp. (Nasdaq:SFNC) and Suffolk Bankcorp (Nasdaq:SUBK).

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

Small-cap stocks went into a tailspin on the opening as runaway inflation, weak housing starts and the never-ending credit crunch saga cast a bearish pall over the market. At 9:55 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 8.53, or 1.15%, at 733.44.

The inflation horizon became more troubling this morning when the Producer Price Index report came out at 1.2%, which was way ahead of the forecast for a rise of 0.6%. The headline figure marked the largest year-over-year rise in 27 years. Recently, investors have tried to shrug off inflation worries, saying that the data is back-dated and that the biggest inflation ingredient — energy — has been on the decline in late July and in August. However, today’s “core” rate of inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, was up a stunning 0.7%, which was far beyond the forecast for a rise of 0.2%. The year-over-year rise in the core rate was the fastest since 1991. Although you can argue that tracking inflation without including energy and food prices is somewhat silly, one thing the core rate shows us today is that inflation is creeping into other areas than just at the gas pump and in the grocery sack.

Rubbing a little salt in the wound was the Housing Starts report, which came out at the same time as the PPI and which also was a disappointment. The headline for housing starts was down 11.0%, slack compared with the forecast for a decline of 9.9%. The rate of July housing starts was at 965,000 units, which marked the lowest level since March 1991. So, housing starts are at 17-year lows and inflation is at 27-year lows. With many market watchers saying that a recovery in the housing market is a necessary start to a recovery in the financial/credit crisis, the numbers today did nothing to help further the bullish argument.

“With sales still soft, and with lending standards tighter, single family housing starts will contract even further,” Steven Wood, chief economist with Insight Economics, said in an email. “Housing’s contribution to economic growth will be . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is posting a solid gain on news that a regional manufacturing index came in better than expected.

At 12:22 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was up 9.37 points, or 1.41%, to 673.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had added 121.38 points, or 1.00%, to 12,221.04.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported after the start of trading that its index of regional manufacturing activity showed a reading of -17 in March, while economists had forecasted -20. The reading for February was -24.

The numbers show continued weakness and represent the longest period of contraction in five years. The percentage of companies expecting to see growth over the next six months was almost the same as the percentage of those expecting a contraction.

With investors bullish, shares of footwear companies are leading the industry group winners.

Nelsonville, Ohio-based Rocky Brands Inc. (Nasdaq:RCKY), which makes shoes in the outdoor, work, duty and western styles, is seeing its stock rise 8%. Similarly, shares of athletic footwear maker K-Swiss Inc. (Nasdaq:KSWS) are also in the green.

Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE:BWS) and men’s footwear distributor Weyco Group Inc. (Nasdaq:WEYS) are also posting gains.

The Lamson & Sessions Co. (NYSE: LMS), Spartan Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPAR) and Resource America, Inc. (Nasdaq: REXI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers: