Russell 2000 tops rally
The Russell 2000 index is leading the rally on Wall Street on news that core May U.S. inflation came in below expectations. At 11:40 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had gained 5.14 points, or 0.62%, to 837.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 60.97 points, or 0.45%, to 13,543.32.
Shares of Boston-based CRA International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRAI) are trading slightly higher on news the consulting company has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to 1.5 million shares of its common stock. The repurchase will be financed with available cash, CRA International announced after Thursday’s close. “CRA currently has in excess of $110 million in cash on hand and an available line of credit of nearly $90 million,” President and CEO James Burrows said.
Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq: LSCC) reaffirmed after Thursday’s close that it expects its second quarter revenue to be up to 4% higher compared with the first quarter of 2007. Revenue for the first quarter ended March was $58.1 million, which means that the Hillsboro, Ore.-based software developer expects to bring in as much as $60.42 million in the second quarter. Wall Street is projecting revenue of $59.54 million. The stock is up
Shares of deCODE genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: DCGN) have added $0.06, or 2%, to $3.74, following news the pharmaceutical company has settled its lawsuit with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The Icelandic biopharmaceutical company had alleged that four of its former employees misappropriated trade secrets when they left to join CHOP. Details of the settlement were not released, but the defendants will have certain obligations toward deCODE. The four employees will continue working for the hospital’s genomics center.
The bulls took charge with the ringing of the opening bell following news that core U.S. inflation barely budged in May.
The core consumer price index, which excludes the cost of food and energy, increased just 0.1% in May, the U.S. Labor Department reported. Economists were projecting a rise of 0.2%. The core CPI has gained 2.2% compared with a year ago.
Overall, higher energy costs pushed U.S. consumer prices up 0.7% in May, the most since September 2005. Prices increased 0.4% in April.
The core inflation figures show that underlying inflation has remained low, suggesting that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not look to raise interest rates.
In other economic news, U.S. industrial production stayed put in May, the Fed reported before the start of trading. On the other hand, capacity utilization retreated to 81.3% in May, from 81.5% in April.
Economists were projecting production to add 0.1% and capacity utilization to stay at April’s level.
