Russell stumbles at closing; IWOV, EAT and CMCO lead gainers
The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) continued to alternate between up and down days, with today being a designated “down” day to the tune of -3.05%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Interwoven, Inc. (Nasdaq:IWOV), Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) and Columbus McKinnon (Nasdaq:CMCO).
Other Market Watch highlights today included:
• Housing starts came in at the worst reading in history, sinking 15.5% in December to a unit rate of 550,000.
• The weekly claims report came in at 589,000 which was above the forecast of 553,000.
• The 4-week moving average for claims was at 519,250, up from 518,000 the previous week; the number of people filing for continuing claims was at 4.6M, up from 4.51M the previous week.
• The MBA Mortgage Application Index fell 9.8% this week, but it is still up 21.8% over year-ago levels.
• Crude oil prices tumbled into the stock market opening, clearly rattled by the weak economic data and sloppy profit report from Microsoft.
• Losses in small caps were much deeper than for the big names, which reflects a “big is safer” mentality in play right now for investors.
• Financial and energy shares were the primary sources of weakness today for stocks, while defensive plays like drug stocks lagged the overall market decline.
• Energy shares fell about 2.7% on the day, while the roller coaster world of bank stocks was down 5.9%.
Small Cap Gainers:
• Autonomy Corporation announced an agreement to acquire Interwoven, Inc.; IWOV shares closed 33% higher. See (Nasdaq:IWOV).
• Brinker International Inc. soared 32% after topping the profit forecast as the operator of On the Border and Maggiano’s completed the sale of its Macaroni Grill franchise. See (NYSE:EAT).
• Columbus McKinnon Q3 beat the Street, shares closed up 12%. See (Nasdaq:CMCO).
Small Cap Losers:
• Heartland Payment Systems Inc. collapsed 40% on unusually heavy volume just two days after the credit card payment processing firm had a security breach. See (NYSE:HPY).
• Agricultural and construction equipment company CNH Global posted a flat Q4 profit and forecasts tough Q1. Shares tumble 37%. See (NYSE:CNH).
• DryShips Inc., a frequent player on the “biggest mover” slate in recent weeks, tumbled 27% as the dry-bulk carrier announced changes to help with capital expenditures and suspended dividends. See (Nasdaq:DRYS).
