Tag - Xco

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) reversed course Tuesday, unable to sustain upward momentum from Monday’s surge as weakness in financial and homebuilder stocks and numbing results from the Treasury four-week bill auction overwhelmed support from energy and a surprising upside midday spurt on tech stocks. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS), Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE:EXM) and Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq:EGLE).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• For the year, the Dow is now down 34%, while the S&P 500 is down 39%.
• The pending home sales report showed a decline of 0.7% in October. 
• Earlier this morning, the Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was down 0.8% for the week on a year-over-year basis.
• Today’s pullback in the stock market comes as a logical “breather” following an impressive two-day run that lifted equities to four-week highs.
• Top performers so far today: aluminum, steel, coal, oil and gas drillers, semiconductors, life insurers and automotive retailers.
• Poorest performers today: real estate investment trusts, air freight couriers, food retail firms and railroads.
• Even though physical commodity prices were soft today, commodity stocks retained a supportive bent for the overall equity market.
• Crude oil prices tumbled $1.64 a barrel, or 3.7% to $42.07, but energy stocks were actually up some 1% into the close.

Small Cap Gainers:

• On the upside of things, dry bulk carriers remained a hot ticket, with Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE:EXM) up 38%, Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:EGLE) up 37%, DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS) up 36% and Safe Bulkers Inc. (NYSE:SB) climbing 22%.
• Exco Resources Inc. (NYSE:XCO) jumped 28% as the oil and natural gas company announced results on the completion of a Louisiana well.
• KMG Chemicals (Nasdaq:KMGB) up 22% after reporting Q1 results . . .

Small-cap stocks were hovering near steady levels into midday trading, drafting off a surprising show of strength in the technology arena and another solid performance from energy and commodity stocks, which helped offset weakness in financial shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS), Excel Maritime (NYSE:EXM) and Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq:EGLE).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Poorest performers so far today: real estate investment trusts, air freight couriers, food retail firms and railroads.  
• Physical commodity markets turned up from a morning slide, bolstered by a pullback in the U.S. dollar.  
• Top performers so far today: aluminum, steel, coal, oil and gas drillers, semiconductors, life insurers and automotive retailers.  
• Small-cap stocks were hovering near steady levels into midday trading, drafting off a surprising show of strength in the technology arena. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Ocean shippers have been a recurring source of strength this week: Dryships is up 45%, Excel Maritime up 41%, Eagle Bulk up 40% and Genco up 27%. See (Nasdaq:DRYS), (NYSE:EXM), (Nasdaq:EGLE) and (NYSE:GNK).  
• Exco Resources Inc. jumped 40% as the oil and natural gas company announced results on the completion of a Louisiana well. See (NYSE:XCO).  
• International Assets reports Q4 results; shares pop 23%. See (Nasdaq:IAAC).
• KMG Chemicals up 22% after reporting Q1 results with 145% increase in revenues, reaffirming FY 2009 guidance. See (Nasdaq:KMGB).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Pep Boys falls 23% after company posts unexpected Q3 loss. See (NYSE:PBY).  
• Buckeye Technologies lowers guidance, cuts production in Florida. Shares tumble 22%. See (NYSE:BKI).  
• Universal Stainless & Alloy Products slumped 15% as some steel companies saw a correction off the big rally Monday. See (Nasdaq:USAP).
• Baird downgrades diversified industrial manufacturer Actuant Corp. to "neutral" from "outperform," halves its price target on the stock. Shares fall over 14%. See (NYSE:ATU).  

Small-cap stocks were hovering near steady levels into midday trading, drafting off a surprising show of strength in the technology arena and another solid performance from energy and commodity stocks, which helped offset weakness in financial shares. At 12:31 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.79, or 0.16%, at 482.17, easily outperforming the large-cap Dow and S&P 500, both of which were in negative territory.

Coming into today’s action, technology stocks were supposed to be a sore spot for investors after Japan’s Sony announced massive layoffs and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN) projected soft forward sales. However, investors once again showed a desire to cast aside bad news as part of a bottoming process that has already been priced into stock market declines this year. Instead of being a weak point, techs were leading the rally today, with the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 Index up 0.8% at mid-session.

Commodity stocks also were a bright spot for small caps so far today. Looking at S&P sector activity, the top performers included aluminum, steel, coal, oil and gas drillers (as well as semiconductors, life insurers and automotive retailers).

Crude oil prices actually slipped slightly into the red following a gloomy report on energy demand, but it didn’t take too much starch out of energy stocks, which were up some 2.7% at midday, among the better overall groups. Physical commodity markets turned up from a morning slide, bolstered by a pullback in the U.S. dollar, which went from a strong rise against the euro to a modest decline by midday.

Despite the resilient tone so far today for small caps, there are some noticeable points of weakness. Among S&P sectors, the poorest performers are real . . .

Small-cap stocks remained solidly lower into midday trading, as a sharp reduction in non-farm payrolls and the highest unemployment rate in 15 years took a toll on the investor psyche. Energy and commodity stocks were the primary bearish influence, although a pullback in homebuilder and retailer shares also weighed on the market.  Some of today’s small-cap gainers are W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA), Thoratec Corp. (Nasdaq:THOR) and Jefferies (NYSE:JEF).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Many experts are expecting the unemployment rate will continue to ratchet higher in December and January.   
• With plenty of somber news in the air today, it was interesting to see that financial stocks were holding up reasonably well.   
• Big losses were seen in oil exploration and oil production, broadcasting, gold stocks, oil and gas drillers, power products, metal and mining shares, forest products, coal and oil and gas storage.   
• The Commodity Research Bureau Index was down 2.3% this morning, setting fresh bear market lows while tumbling to the lowest point since August 2002.  

Small Cap Gainers:

• W.R. Grace & Co. will pay up to $140M over time into a fund for individuals injured by the company’s asbestos-containing Zonolite attic insulation. Shares climb 16%. See (NYSE:GRA).   
• Thoratec Corp. climbs 15% as the firm said its trial heart pump device was a noted improvement. See (Nasdaq:THOR).   
• Jefferies up 14% despite rumores that Moody's may downgrade the firm. See (NYSE:JEF).   
• Asbury Automotive Group up 10% on very light volume. See (NYSE:ABG).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Patriot Coal Corp. is off 15%, swayed not only by the commodities fall, but also by news that Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) would cut lending to coal mining companies in an environmental move. See (NYSE:PCX).   
• Exco Resources Inc. is off 17% as the oil and gas firm also was pulled under with the energy decline. See (NYSE:XCO).   
• Tecumseh announces share recapitalization plan; motion to remove directors fails. Stock is down 1.5%. See (Nasdaq:TECUA).  
• Orbitz Worldwide falls 13% as online travel sites slump on lower traffic. See (NYSE:OWW).

Small-cap stocks remained solidly lower into midday trading, as a sharp reduction in non-farm payrolls and the highest unemployment rate in 15 years took a toll on the investor psyche. Energy and commodity stocks were the primary bearish influence, although a pullback in homebuilder and retailer shares also weighed on the market. At 11:31 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 11.01, or 2.51%, at 428.52.

Crude oil prices tumbled below $42 a barrel, the lowest point since January 2005 as energy traders fretted about a global recession, led by their biggest customer – the United States. Energy stocks were off about 5%, far outpacing other sectors. Surprisingly, financial and bank shares were actually slightly positive despite the downbeat jobs report.

Those worries in the commodities arena about the demand side of the equation only gathered momentum after today’s dreary employment report not only showed the unemployment rate rose to the highest level since 1993 at 6.7%, but also reflected the largest one-month drawdown in payrolls since December 1974. The Commodity Research Bureau Index was down 2.3% this morning, setting fresh bear market lows while tumbling to the lowest point since August 2002. Among S&P sector groups, the biggest losses were seen in oil exploration and oil production, broadcasting, gold stocks, oil and gas drillers, power products, metal and mining shares, forest products, coal and oil and gas storage.

With plenty of somber news in the air today, it was interesting to see that financial stocks were holding up reasonably well. There continues to be a thought . . .