Russell 2000 falls on stimulus news
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices lost ground following news of Bush’s plan to invigorate the economy. At 1:33 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 4.92 points, or 0.72%, to 675.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had declined 47.63 points, or 0.39%, to 12,111.58.
“To keep our economy growing and creating jobs, Congress and the administration need to work to enact an economic growth package as soon as possible,” President Bush said during a press conference this afternoon.
Calls for a policy response to help the U.S. economy avoid recession have been mounting recently as politicians on both sides of the aisle have been scrambling to develop a stimulus package.
Bush continued that the growth package must about 1% of gross domestic product and has to focus on “broad-based tax relief.”
The White House wants to give one-time income tax rebates to taxpayers and eliminate the 10% income tax bracket for one year. Democrats generally agree, but want the aid to be more targeted toward the poor and unemployed.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she wants Congress to vote on a stimulus package within one month.
But investors don’t appear to be impressed by the proposal. Stocks started moving down before the president’s speech and fell even further upon hearing the proposal.
Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:
Biggest percentage gainers:
• Intersections Inc. (INTX), up 9%.
• PC Mall Inc. (MALL), up 11%.
• 51job Inc. (JOBS), up 10%.
Biggest percentage losers:
• ZymoGenetics, Inc. (ZGEN), down 16% on news of an analyst downgrade.
• Allegiant Travel Co. (ALGT), down 13%.
• The9 Ltd. (NCTY), down 13% on news the CFO has resigned.
