Russell 2000 still flat
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is little changed this afternoon. At 2:47 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 2.57 points, or 0.34%, to 756.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 30.24 points, or 0.23%, to 13,262.71.
The day began with news that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) swung to a fourth-quarter loss due to $9.4 billion in mortgage-related write-downs. Like many of its peers facing similar circumstances, the New York-based financial services giant responded by saying that it will sell as much as 9.9% of itself for a cash infusion of $5 billion. In this case, help came from a Chinese sovereign fund.
Investors were apparently unsure what to make of the news, because the Russell 2000 opened with a decline but quickly moved higher, only to fall again at about 11:30 a.m. ET along with the Dow. At about 2 p.m. both indices rose again.
In other financial news, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced after the start of trading that it auctioned $20 billion in a special operation at an interest rate of 4.65%. The auction, which was held on Monday, saw 93 bidders ask for a total of $61.55 billion, a sign that commercial banks are thirsty for money to help their balance sheets and improve liquidity.
The auction was part of the Fed’s previously announced plan to alleviate the global credit squeeze with periodic lending of funds. Also participating are the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.
Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:
Biggest percentage gainers:
• DG FastChannel Inc. (DGIT), up 19% on news it has bought an advertising distribution business from Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) for $129 million.
• Edge Petroleum Corp. (EPEX), up 15% on news it is considering strategic options.
• DemandTec Inc. (DMAN), up 14%.
Biggest percentage losers:
• Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (KFS), down 21% on news of an analyst downgrade.
• Macatawa Bank Corp. (MCBC), down 19% on news it has set aside $9.5 million more to prepare for borrowers failing to repay loans.
• Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (HOV) down 13% on news of a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter net loss.
