Russell 2000 recovers
The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) has erased its earlier losses and returned to its starting position. At 12:41 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had climbed 1.58 points, or 0.23%, to 702.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was down 27.35 points, or 0.22%, to 12,521.29.
Small-cap stocks have moved into positive territory after first breaking into the green at 11 a.m. ET and swinging and then going through a period of swinging back and forth.
The upward momentum comes despite news after the start of trading that U.S. consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in five years in March. The Conference Board reported that its index of consumer confidence fell to a level of 64.5 from an upwardly revised level of 76.4 in February.
However, shares of fixed-wireless broadband provider Towerstream Corp. (Nasdaq:TWER) are bucking the trend, down 4%.
“The current stock market environment appears unforgiving of companies without fully funded business plans,” wrote Eric Kainer, an analyst with investment bank ThinkEquity Partners, in a research note today. “We believe much of the concern over Towerstream is that it could slide from fully-funded at a three-month sales force ramp to partly-funded at a nine-month sales force ramp.”
Kainer has a “buy” rating on the stock and a price target of $2 per share, down from $5 per share previously.
