Small caps bounce off morning lows with techs, retailers

Small-cap stocks remained lower into midday trading, but were also well off the morning lows as oversold conditions, erratic bargain-hunting, firm tech and retail stocks helped limit some of the gloom surrounding the latest economic news. The market continued to fret about the fate of domestic automakers, and continued to suffer money flow exit into safe-haven docks. At 12:24 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 3.93, or 0.95%, at 408.45.

The U.S. trading session started off on a sour note as the latest weekly unemployment claims spiked to 542,000, which marked the highest point in 16 years. Continuing claims, which represent people unable to find work, rose to 4.012 million, the highest point in 26 years. The labor market is bleak right now, and expected to get even worse over the next couple of months, the only debate is whether or not the economic “bad news” is already factored into the historic collapse in stocks. Since the Russell this morning plunged to the lowest point since May 2003, the immediate answer seems to be “no.” Still, there plenty of market watchers out there who believe that bad economic data is not a surprise and that valuations are very attractive; if the market will only get past the current crisis of confidence, then things could turn very quickly.

Of course, it’s easier said than done. Investors with cash left are piling it into credit products, regardless of how terrible the yield might be. This has become an epic week for Treasury products, with yields on 2-year notes sinking to record lows, while the benchmark 10-year note today tumbled to the lowest point in more than 5 years. The mentality in play seems to be “right now, protect my money; I’ll look for returns down the road.”

Crude oil prices tumbled below $50 a barrel, reaching the lowest point since May 2005 and energy stocks were taking a beating today, acting as a major drag on index products. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was off 6.7% at mid-session.

Small caps on the decline today include Quicksilver Resources Inc. (NYSE:KWK), which was down 29% as the natural gas and oil exploration company set new 52-week lows amid the downdraft in energy stocks. On that same theme, Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. (NYSE:HLX) was off 25% as the offshore development firm said that production in the wake of Gulf hurricanes was now near 50% of pre-storm levels. On the upside, several small financial firms were leading the percentage gainers today; outside of financials, Gymboree Corp. (Nasdaq:GYMB) was up 25% as the children’s retailer beat the earnings forecast. PETsMART Inc. (Nasdaq:PETM) jumped 22% as the pet retailer also received an earnings lift.