Russell opens low; BSTC, APOG, and TTMI lead gainers
Small-cap stocks were slightly lower early this morning, pulled down by a rash of weak profit reports and gloomy outlooks amid ongoing concerns about the economic environment. Energy stocks were a soft spot for the market as crude oil tumbled to fresh four-year lows. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are BioSpecifics Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq:BSTC), Apogee Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:APOG) and TTM Tech Inc. (Nasdaq:TTMI).
Other Market Watch highlights today included:
• The dollar rallied into positive territory against the euro after taking a hit overnight, which could weigh on various commodity markets.
• Crude oil prices tumbled to four-year lows Wednesday and extended that slide today, off some $1.50 a barrel this morning.
• The energy market was on the mend overnight, but started sinking fast into the stock market open.
• This morning, analysts at UBS lowered their forecast for 2009 profit estimates for the S&P 500
Small Cap Gainers:
• BioSpecifics Technologies Corp. jumped 41% as the biopharma firm announced a licensing agreement with Pfizer Inc. See (Nasdaq:BSTC).
• Apogee Enterprises Inc. rose 12% as the glass maker received an earnings-related lift. See (Nasdaq:APOG).
• TTM Tech Inc. rose 8% as the circuit board manufacturer continues to climb off the November lows. See (Nasdaq:TTMI).
• FedEx Corp. met the current forecast, but warned that 2009 looked quite weak and said they would cut costs to prepare. See (NYSE:FDX).
Small Cap Losers:
• Tennant Co. slumped 19% as the safety solutions firm announced restructuring plans amid slower sales. See (NYSE:TNC).
• Atheros Communications falls 9.3% in pre-market after being cut to "hold" by Deutsche Bank. See (Nasdaq:ATHR).
• Actuant earnings slashed in first quarter, shares tumble 7%. See (NYSE:ATU).
• JP Morgan cuts Bucyrus to "neutral;" shares down 4% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:BUCY).
