A high close on Monday; IESC, BTH and VOL lead gainers
The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rose higher at closing, outpacing many large-cap indices that slumped on weak financial and energy stocks. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Integrated Electrical Services (Nasdaq:IESC), Blyth (NYSE:BTH) and Volt Information (NYSE:VOL).
Other Market Watch highlights today included:
• The personal income data came in at minus 0.2%, which was slightly below the forecast for a decline of 0.3%.
• For the year, personal income was up 3.7%, which marked the smallest rise since 2003.
• The ISM Manufacturing Survey came in at 35.6, which was a little better than the projection of 33, but still historically low.
• For the year, the Russell is down 9.9%, while the Dow is off 9.5% and the S&P 500 is down 8.6%.
• The tech-laden Nasdaq 100 advanced 1.3% on the day, with semiconductor stocks, systems software manufacturers and telecoms leading the way.
• It was interesting to see small caps diverge away from energy stocks today, as the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund fell 1.6%.
• More often than not, small caps tend to track energy trends fairly closely, partly because of all the small-cap energy firms in play.
• The U.S. dollar started out the day higher against the euro, but gave back those gains by the close.
Small Cap Gainers:
• Integrated Electrical Services Inc. jumped 26% ahead of earnings news slated to come after Monday’s close. See (Nasdaq:IESC).
• Blyth Inc. staged an impressive bullish key reversal by making new lows for the move then storming higher on unusually brisk volume. The home fragrance and décor firm rallied some 21%. See (NYSE:BTH).
• Volt Information Science Inc. rose 21% recovering from a wild up and down session Friday in conjunction with earnings news. See (NYSE:VOL).
Small Cap Losers:
• ADC Telecommunications Inc. dropped 36% as the firm updated the outlook and announced job cuts. See (Nasdaq:ADCT).
• Las Vegas Sands Corp. tumbled 15% after naming Bradley Stone as president of global operations and construction See (NYSE:LVS).
• Signet Jewelers Ltd. tumbled 14% as the specialty jewelry retailer fell to new 52-week lows. See (NYSE:SIG).
