Russell 2000 now falling
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) has dropped into negative territory as stocks large and small continue to move erratically. At 1:10 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had retreated 4.61 points, or 0.66%, to 698.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was down 69.66 points, or 0.57%, to 12,177.34.
Small-cap stocks are seesawing wildly today as there is no major economic or corporate news to give the stock market direction.
But concerns about the state of the U.S. economy are coming to the forefront following news of comments from an official at the U.S. Federal Reserve that the economy is headed for a slowdown.
“I consider it most probable that the U.S. economy will experience slow growth, and not outright recession, in coming quarters,” said Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, in a speech in Honolulu.
However, Richard Curtin, director of the Reuters/University of Michigan surveys of consumers, appears to be more pessimistic.
Curtin is quoted as saying today that the economy has entered a recession that will be more prolonged than the typical economic downturn.
The Russell 2000 has been playing with both the bears and the bulls, but at about 12 p.m. ET, it dropped to lows not seen earlier in the session.
Among the biggest losers is Brush Engineered Materials Inc. (Nasdaq: BW), which makes engineered materials for a variety of industries. The Cleveland, Ohio-based company more than halved its fourth-quarter net income due to lower production.
Also dropping are shares of comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), on news that the provider of technology for measuring online activities issued a first-quarter earnings guidance below analysts’ expectations.
Bucking the trend is OYO Geospace Corp. (Nasdaq: OYOG), despite news that the Houston-based maker of scientific instrumentation and equipment used by the global petroleum industry to acquire seismic data reported fiscal first-quarter profit of $3.3 million, or $0.54 per share, down from $7.8 million, or $1.30 per share, reported a year earlier and short of the $0.67 per share expected by Wall Street.
