Little change for small caps
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) sagged slightly on mixed economic news. The small-cap index fell 0.88 points, or 0.12%, to 716.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) gained 9.36 points, or 0.07%, to 12,694.28.
On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 6.47%, while the Dow is down 4.30% and the S&P 500 has let go 6.02%.
Small-cap stocks went both up and down today but closed little changed as investors digested a handful of economic data.
The index opened down on news that durable goods fell 5.3% in January, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Economists were expecting to see a 4% decline following a downwardly revised increase of 4.4% in December.
A separate report showed that new home sales for January also fell more than expected, underscoring the problems in the housing sector.
At around 10:30 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 moved into the green as U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hinted to members of the House Financial Services Committee that the Fed might lower its target federal funds rate when it next meets on March 18.
More good news came when government regulators from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight announced they will remove the investment caps of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).
But the bulls lost their footing and the small-cap index fell to its lowest level of the session at around 2:30 p.m. ET, before a rebound moved it back up to its starting position.
Here are the day’s biggest percentage gainers and losers, along with top volume leaders, among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:
• S1 Corp. (SONE), up 24% to $7.46 on news it swung to a fourth-quarter profit.
• VanceInfo Technologies Inc. (VIT), up 22% to $8.06 on news that fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled.
• AXT, Inc. (AXTI), up 20% to $5.93 on news of better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
• EnerNOC, Inc. (ENOC), down 36% to $16.31 on news of a wider fourth-quarter loss.
• CV Therapeutics, Inc. (CVTX), down 20% to $6.22 on news that fourth-quarter net loss narrowed but still fell short of expectations.
• IRIS International, Inc. (IRIS), down 18% to $10.36 on news that full-year 2008 was below Wall Street’s projections.
• CV Therapeutics, Inc. (CVTX) 7,037,300 shares traded.
• North American Palladium Ltd. (PAL) 6,224,200 shares traded.
• Standard Pacific Corp. (SPF) 5,975,900 shares traded.
The day saw 25 small-cap stocks set 52-week lows, while 12 small caps established a 52-week high.
