Russell 2000 ends lower
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) fell today following news of a decline in U.S. manufacturing in November. The small-cap index lost 7.80 points, or 1.02%, to 759.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) stumbled 57.15 points, or 0.43%, to 13,314.57.
On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is off 3.49%, while the Dow has added 6.73% and the S&P 500 is up 3.94%.
The futures were pointing north and the major U.S. indices opened in the green but immediately fell as investors anticipated a decline in November manufacturing activity.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index, released at 10 a.m. ET, showed a reading of 50.8, below October’s level of 50.9 but above economists’ projections of 50.5. A reading above 50 is an expansion.
“While other segments of the economy are struggling, manufacturing continues to grow due to continuing strength in new orders and a recovery in production from last month,” said Norbert Ore, chair of the ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, in a statement.
Exports, production and new orders increased, while employment declined 4.2% compared with the level in October.
Small-cap stocks fell despite news of the smaller-than-expected decline.
The bearish mood lasted until about midway through the session, when U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the department is working on a plan to ease the pain of borrowers with subprime adjustable-rate mortgages.
The deal, which some observers expect will be finalized soon, would help borrowers by freezing their introductory interest rates instead of having them reset to higher rates after a certain period of time, the way it is now. One of the issues currently in discussion is the length of the freeze.
That news gave stocks a bump and the Russell 2000 and the Dow rose into positive territory. But the bullish sentiment was short-lived, with both indices falling again shortly after 1 p.m. ET, and establishing a descending trajectory.
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:
Biggest percentage gainers:
• Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (CDTI), up 32% to $29.79. A company representative was not available for comment.
• China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (CSUN), up 22% to $9.26. A company representative could not be reached for comment.
• Gevity HR, Inc. (GVHR), up 21% to $5.15 on news of an analyst upgrade.
Biggest percentage losers:
• Repros Therapeutics Inc. (RPRX) down 18% to $8.07 despite news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted its pre-surgical treatment for the correction of anemia.
• Targacept Inc. (TRGT) down 17% to $8.01 on news its pain treatment drug candidate failed in a midstage study.
• Security Capital Assurance Ltd. (SCA), down 15% to $6. A company representative could not be reached for comment.
Volume leaders:
• Force Protection, Inc. (FRPT) 5,529,100 shares traded on news that the joint venture with General Dynamics Land Systems (GD) broke monthly vehicle production records.
• Palm Inc. (PALM) 3,439,700 shares traded.
• China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (CSUN) 3,198,800 shares traded.
The day saw 87 small-cap stocks set 52-week lows, while 18 small caps established 52-week highs.
