Russell 2000 leads losers
The Russell 2000 is lower than the other indices as concerns interest rates are not going down anytime soon grips Wall Street. At 11:34 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was down 7.92 points, or 0.95%, to 825.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 66.88 points, or 0.50%, to 13,358.08.
White Electronic Designs Corp. (Nasdaq: WEDC) has received a $3 million contract for the design and manufacture of a test strip for a blood monitoring application, the Phoenix, Ariz.-based maker of high technology components said before the opening bell. The company did not disclose the name of the client. Shares added $0.11, or 2%, to $5.95.
Middletown, R.I.-based fixed wireless service provider Towerstream Corp. (Nasdaq: TWER) has closed the sale of 10 million shares of its common stock for a total purchase price of $40 million in a registered direct public offering, the company announced before the start of trading. The stock is down $0.10, or 2%, to $3.94.
Shares of Amtech Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASYS) have gained $0.34, or 4%, to $8.01, on news the Tempe, Ariz.-based supplier of systems used for semiconductor and solar cell manufacturing has received more than $16.5 million in solar orders over past 12 months. Included in the total are orders worth $4.1 million from a new Asia client, the company said before the market open. For the fiscal 2007 year to date, Amtech has received approximately $9.8 million of solar orders.
In economic news, India’s industrial production outpaced expectations in April, suggesting the central bank may have to raise interest rates to keep inflation in check.
Similarly, China’s inflation in May reached the highest level in 27 months, raising the possibility of a rise in interest rates to cool the Asian giant’s sizzling economy.
A rise in interest rates will reduce liquidity and put an end to the easy money that has being fueling stock market growth around the world.
In the United States, a top U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Monday that inflation remains the central bank’s top concern. That was taken as a sign that the Fed will leave the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25% at its next meeting on June 28.
